Biotic Beginnings
by 10tonsoffun
Summary: Setting: Post ME2. Charles Magnus (OC) is a young man from earth who is invited to join the Ascension Project. However, Charles' biotic abilities are not developing as he would like. How will this shy teen fit in at the academy? How will his biotics develop? Charles is not the only new face at the academy. Jack is the new instructor, and she will have to get used to her new role.
1. Letting Go

Chapter One - Letting go

As always, everything was quiet in the small village, where Mr. and Mrs. Magnus lived. Their house was small and simple, and appeared to be completely similar to every single other house in the village. It wasn't a particular poor village, but it was unusually old-fashioned and the inhabitants all seemed to be ignoring the fact that humanity was now a space faring race. Most of them weren't too comfortable with being too far away from the village, so though they were of course aware of the council races and life away from planet earth, they were in complete denial of intelligent alien life and certainly refused to let it have any influence on their simple lives.

Mr. and Mrs. Magnus were no different. They were both born and raised in the area and had neither of them had ever left mother earth. They also, like most of the villagers, didn't carry any love in their hearts for The Alliance. The Magnus's didn't really feel the influence of The Alliance in their little village, but they were still afraid that the supremacy of their own country might be threatened, or that the dealings with other species would allow those pesky aliens to control humans through the increasing power of The Systems Alliance.

Due to fear of overpopulation their country had implemented a one-child policy, and as good, law abiding citizens, the Magnus household had only been blessed with a single child. Their son, Charles Magnus, was coming up on his eighteenth birthday and was in the process of deciding, what he was going to do with his life. Charles Magnus had been raised by very loving and caring parents, and they had taught him about the world as they saw it. Charles, however, did not share his parents' obvious xenophobia and distrust of The Alliance.

He had really enjoyed the vids that they showed at his school. To his parents' disliking, knowledge of alien species and galactic politics, economy and social sciences had recently been added to list of subjects taught in school. These new and exciting subjects were the only things about going to school that could put half a smile on his face. Charles didn't really have any friends, and for that reason he rarely enjoyed school days. It wasn't that he was stupid or performed very poorly in his tests, in fact he was the average student in almost every single way. The other students rarely paid him any attention, and he had quickly earned a reputation as a quiet loner. A reputation that very effectively kept him from making any friends all the way through his time in school.

Now that most of his class mates were nearing the age of eighteen, societal standards required for them to contemplate a career path. Representatives from many different universities, companies and government departments had shown up at the school trying to lure the young men and women of the village into their particular educational program.

Of course, the alliance had also paid them a visit. A young, handsome lieutenant had shown up with a lot of fancy looking uniforms, weapons and exciting stories from the frontlines of galactic warfare. Many of Charles's male class mates had been enticed by the display of weapons and promises of glory in combat, and some of the females had found the cheeky smiles of the young lieutenant hard to resist. But, as with Mr. and Mrs. Magnus, most of their parents didn't trust The Alliance, and so they all chose different careers. The lieutenant hadn't seemed to be too disappointed. Apparently, he had been warned by his superiors, that this village would likely be a long shot. Charles himself had seriously been tempted by traveling the stars wearing The Alliance uniform, but he was so afraid of how his parents would react to this, that he decided that he would at least look at his other options once more before doing anything that might exclude him from the will of his father. Also, Charles was not sure that he was really a violent person. He had never been in a fight, though within himself he was sure that he would give anything to defend his beloved parents if they should ever be in harm's way.

However, his search for an alternative career path was going nowhere. He simply couldn't find anything that he was passionate about that didn't involve space travel. The fastest and only guaranteed way for him to travel the stars was a career with The Alliance. One evening at dinner he had daringly revealed his thoughts to his parents.

"Mother, please, I told you like a thousand times. I really do not wish to go and work with uncle Eric, I'm just not that into cooking."

"But what are you into then, honey?" she sighed, knowing that he would say that he didn't know, and that this conversation wouldn't get Charles any closer to deciding what to do with his life. They had been throwing career suggestions at him every night at dinner for weeks, but nothing seemed to interest her son. She really did love her son, but she also knew, that he couldn't live with them his entire life. And she could feel herself getting a bit angry with Charles for being so seemingly uninterested in everything.

To her surprise, Charles looked up from his half finished plate and whispered:

"Do you really want to know?"

Causing his father to pay attention to the conversation that he thought was going in the same direction as every other night.

His parents stared at him and both nodded intently.

"I want to see the galaxy. I have really searched my soul, and it is the only thing that I really want. I know how you feel about the whole extra terrestrial business, and I don't want to hurt you, but this is what I really want." He said quickly.

He half expected for his parents to freak, but they just continued to stare at him.

He continued.

"I am not sure if I want to be a soldier, but I just don't see any other way for me to get a job in space at this time."

Finally his father spoke.

"So you want to go and join those Alliance folks? You want to wrestle with aliens?"

Charles looked him in the eyes.

"I don't know father. As I said, I am not sure if I am really soldier material, but I just can't see any other way for me to go to space."

There was a long and very uncomfortable silence. Eventually Charles couldn't take it anymore, so he rose from his seat and carried his still half full plate to the dishwasher.

Behind his back his parents gave each other a long look and they both sighed.

"Honey, please come back" Charles heard his mother yell from the table.

He walked back to the table and stood behind his chair leaning against it with a sad look on his face. He was expecting them to be angry, to feel like he was disrespecting their opinions and their wishes for his future. He was surprised to see that they both looked very calm, besides from his mother's eyes. She looked like she was about to burst into tears.

Mrs. Magnus looked at her son with her teary eyes. He was so big now. He had grown very tall these last few years and was now almost 6'5, though that was not uncommon in their part of the world. She looked at his thick brown hair. As always his hair was completely uncontrollable. Strands of hair zigzagged in and out between each other in almost gravity defying fashion on top of his head. She also noticed some stubble on his chin and along his jaw. Her boy was really becoming a man. She looked into his eyes, those wonderful blue eyes. His eyes could always remind her of the days when he was just a kid. She glanced over at her husband, who nodded at her.

"Honey, there is something that we need to tell you." She said, "but first you should know that your father and I love you very much. We are not angry with you for wanting to go off to space, we are just really worried for you."

"I love you too." Charles said, rubbing his neck, "what is it that you need to tell me?"

"Son," his father started, "as you know your medical test from a couple of years back revealed that you have biotic potential."

"Yes dad, I remember, but you guys refused to let them implant the necessary amplifiers, that would allow me to actually make use of that potential. You said that humans should not undergo surgery to achieve powers that aliens have. That it was unnatural." Charles said, looking down at his feet.

"And we still don't like the thought of it." His father said in a gloomy voice. "But your latest medical examination has apparently revealed that your biotic potential exceeds what is normal. The Alliance sent us a message saying that they would like for you to have the implants now and go through training at their academy."

Charles's mouth was wide open. He had often thought about what would have happened if his parents would have let him have the implants in his early teens. It would certainly have made him stand out a bit from the crowd at his school. And now he was being told that even amongst biotics he was something special.

"Whe..Where is this academy?" he stuttered.

"It is on a space station" Mrs. Magnus said. She couldn't stop herself from smiling when she saw the grin on the face of her son.

"We really didn't like the thought of you going there," his father said, "but you seem very sure that you want to leave earth. We both hate the idea of you as a marine, and if we have to send you off to space, we would much rather send you to this academy place than see the bloody Alliance use you for cannon fodder."

"So you would let me have the surgery and go to this academy?" Charles said, his voice laced with disbelief.

"Well, as I see it, soon you will be 18. And we won't be able to stop you anyway" his father said with a nervous smile.

Mr. and Mrs. Magnus both looked at their son, who seemed to be thinking very hard.

"I think it sounds SO cool!" He finally said with a great big smile. "This is what I want, but how will I let them know?".

His father put his arm around his mother and said "Dr. Sanders, the representative from the academy, will be visiting us next week. I think she will be able to tell you everything you need to know."

Charles walked around the dinner table and hugged his parents from behind with a huge smile on his face.

He felt like a big weight has been removed from his shoulders. He had successfully revealed his biggest dream to his parents with no fuzz, and now it seemed like he would be going to space. He couldn't remember ever being this happy in his life.

A tear began to form in each of his blue eyes as he softly whispered to his parents.

"I love you".

* * *

_A/N_

_This is my first ever fanfiction, so please let me know if I am doing anything wrong. Also, you should know that English is not my native language, so I would love to receive some constructive criticism from those of you who are native speakers._

_ I will appreciate all reviews. Please give me your thoughts (either review or PM). I will also greatly appreciate if any of you have suggestions that you would like to see in the story, I would love for my readers to be a part of the creative process._

_I would also love to know, if you guys prefer shorter chapters updated in quick succession or longer chapters with longer intervals between updates._

_If you have any questions about me or my story, just throw me a PM :D_

_Thank you all very much for reading._

_Peace Out._

_- Simon_


	2. Dr Sanders

Chapter Two - Dr. Sanders

Dr. Kahlee Sanders was sat at the Magnus family dinner table across from Charles, who was flanked by his parents on either side of him. She was a middle aged woman, probably in her late forties, but in Charles' mind she had some very attractive features. Not least of which was her blond hair that fell softly over her shoulders. Not that Charles was in any way an expert when it came to the opposite sex. He had never had a girlfriend, not even close. In fact he couldn't remember ever having a real conversation with any woman aside from his mother. He did however feel pretty comfortable with his judgment of Dr. Sanders's looks. He was sure that she would be considered attractive by a majority of people.

Though she didn't come across as very old, Charles could tell from the way that she talked and her confidence that she was probably a bit older than she looked.

His eyes wandered from her hair down to her standard Alliance officer's uniform. He had prayed that the doctor would have showed up in her civilian clothes. He feared that the presence of an Alliance officer in their home would upset his parents so much that they might pull the plug on the entire project. However, Mr. Magnus appeared to have been completely disarmed by the doctor's good looks, and Mrs. Magnus was too preoccupied with keeping her husband in check to even notice the Alliance logo on Sanders's chest. She threw a jealous look at the doctor's golden hair, which seemed to be glowing almost as much as Charles' face. As he sat there between his parents, Charles' face was positively gleaming with anticipation and happiness.

"So, young Mr. Magnus, I trust that you know why I am here today, yes?" Sanders said in a soft voice, smiling at the young man sitting directly across from her.

He nodded.

"Let me start by making sure that you understand that this is absolutely your own choice. We are not trying to draft you into the Alliance military against your will. We are merely offering you an opportunity." She continued.

Charles gave her another nod.

"Wonderful. Then let me first tell you a little bit about our facility and the program that we would like for you to join. As you know, my name is Dr. Kahlee Sanders. I work at a place called Jon Grissom Academy, which is a school for young humans with extraordinary potential. We have students who are mathematical geniuses, students that are scientific prodigies and students who are trying to break through as artists. We strive to offer education to the most promising young humans of many different fields, and we would like for all of our students to simply be the best that they can be. The academy is funded by a large number of different investors, the largest by far is The Systems Alliance." Sanders said, unable to hide the pride in her voice.

Charles listened to her with a concentrated look on his face. Determined not to miss a single piece of information. He still couldn't imagine himself as part of a student body with "extraordinary potential".

His parents shared nervous looks, but none of them could help but feel some sort of pride that their son was being invited into this, apparently, very exclusive school program.

Dr. Sanders continued her monologue.

"I am the officer in charge of a project called Ascension, which is dedicated to all of our students with biotic abilities. I am here today to offer you a spot as a student of the Ascension Project. This part of the academy is funded solely by the alliance, and I myself am obviously employed by The Alliance." She said, gesturing at her uniform.

She went on.

"Though sponsored by The Alliance, the students of the Ascension Project are not required to pursue a career within The Alliance upon completion of their education. Should you choose to join our academy, you will hold the military rank of ensign, but as I said, once you have your graduation papers, you are free to do what you want."

Mr. and Mrs. Magnus looked very relieved at this, and they simultaneously sighed loudly, causing both Kahlee Sanders and their son to smile.

"Now, Charles, as I am sure that you are aware, amps are typically implanted in kids with biotic potential when they hit puberty. This is where we would usually invite them to our facility to begin their basic training. At the age of eighteen we will then offer the students to stay with the project for 4 additional years in advanced classes that will begin to teach them combat biotics and the project will become more and more militarily based. However, your case is special as you will soon be eighteen years old. We would like for you to essentially skip basic training and join the students that in a few months will be starting advanced class." She explained, still smiling.

Charles looked terrified now. How was he expected to just join a class of students who had been honing their biotic abilities since their early teens, when he was yet to have his amplifiers surgically implanted.

Dr. Sanders seemed to pick up on his anxiety almost instantly.

"I understand that this might seem like a tall order," she said, "but with the test results that I have seen, we all believe that you will quickly catch up. Also, by joining the advanced class, your classmates will all be around your age, instead of six or seven years younger. I also think that you will find that the other students will be able to help you a lot in the beginning."

Charles glanced to his left where his mother was sitting, lovingly looking at him with a nervous smile barely visible on her lips. He looked into her watery eyes, searching for some kind of clue. _What does she want me to do?_ He thought. She gave him a small nod, which let him know that she would support him whatever he decided to do. His father put his arm around his neck and asked in a soft voice.

"Is this what you want, son?"

Charles nodded.

"I... I think it is."

Dr. Sanders let out a cute little laugh and continued her description of The Grissom Academy.

"The station itself is roughly one kilometer in length and houses more than 8,500 students, instructors and other personnel. A very small amount of the population is actually affiliated with the Ascension Project. We are one of the smallest departments, and we are expecting less than ten students in the advanced class that you will join. The basic training department is much bigger, but still only represents a tiny fraction of the total population of the academy. Everything else that you will need to know about the station will be forwarded to you. But a lot of it will probably be easier to fathom when you actually arrive."

He nodded, completely understanding what she meant.

"I can tell you though, that our advanced class students will be offered some new and quite luxurious rooms that we recently retrofitted to our station. It will be almost like having a nice, although small, apartment on the citadel." Dr. Sanders finished, now completely unable to hide the smirk on her face.

This Ascension Project was obviously something in which she took extreme pride.

After almost an hour of conversation Dr. Sanders finally said.

"So, Mr. Magnus, still interested in joining our project?"

He smiled and nodded, but then his face became serious again.

"Yes Dr. Sanders, but what about implants?"

She held out her data pad.

" If you and at least one of your parents sign this, we will have you in the hands of the best surgical team The Alliance has to offer within a couple of weeks. Everything will of course be sponsored by The Alliance."

Charles was now very excited and completely unable to come up with any reason not to accept the offer to join Project Ascension. He pulled the data pad from Kahlee Sanders and signed it with a flourish.

He looked up from the pad and grinned at Dr. Sanders, who in response smiled and said.

"As I said, at least one signature is required from your parents, seeing that you are still not eighteen years old."

Charles' head seemed to spin on his neck, as he scanned the faces of his parents for any signs of unwillingness to sign the data pad. They both still looked very undecided, and Charles could feel that he was starting to get nervous. Would his parents' distrust of The Alliance cause them to keep him from achieving his newfound goal in life?

The time stood completely still in Charles' mind. His mother has frozen in her seat, but she was becoming increasingly more teary eyed as the seconds dragged on. His father had been staring at the data pad, still resting in the hands of his only son, for what seemed like hours.

Charles was now on the edge of panic, realizing that his parents had changed their minds, and that they wouldn't let him go to the academy. He knew that they would miss him, and that they were only keeping him there because they loved him, but he was still very disappointed and absolutely heartbroken. His chin fell to his chest and his eyes settled on his signature on the data pad in his hands. The two lines under the one on which he had made his own signature were empty, and he would have to give up the dreams of the space station, that had grown within him in the past week and had increased tenfold in intensity during the conversation with Dr. Sanders.

She however, did not give up so easily.

"I understand that you don't like the thought of your son on a space station far away, but let me assure you that nothing is more important to us than the well being of our students. Even in the Ascension Project. Especially in the Ascension Project. We will always allow for our students to take some time off to visit their families here on earth or wherever they might be. The Alliance will also pay for both of you to travel to the Academy once every year to see your son and meet his class mates and instructors."

The doctor looked patiently at the older couple and their son, who still had a defeated expression on his face.

Mr. and Mrs. Magnus briefly looked at each other before leaning towards each other behind the back of their son. They shared as passionate a kiss as they dared with an Alliance officer sitting on the other side of the table before both signing the data pad.


	3. Interview

Chapter Three - Interview

"Hey! Watch it human," a tall batarian shouted as Jack accidentally brushed against his shoulder trying to maneuver her way across the busy market of Zakera Ward.

"Fuck you, four eyes!" she replied, her clenched fists glowing a light shade of blue. The batarian cautiously moved his eyes to the biotic's glowing hands, 2 eyes were on each threatening fist. Eventually he simply shook his head, not wanting to cause a scene in the middle of the market and certainly not wanting to be sent flying across the room if this human biotic was as powerful as her willingness to fight suggested. She sure looked crazy!

"That's right, you better walk!" Jack roared at the leaving batarian, earning disapproving looks from the market goers closest to her, her aggressive behavior clearly frowned upon by both humans and aliens. She was used to people staring though. She knew that her shaven head, liberal clothing, foul mouth and ink-covered body was a very acquired taste. Not that she really cared what people thought, she was simply aware. Most people wouldn't go anywhere near her as she walked through the market, mothers would pull their children closer to themselves and she could hear people whispering and snickering wherever she went. Most people might have found this situation very undesirable and uncomfortable. But not Jack. Not a single fuck was given.

The former Subject Zero had a very ambivalent relationship with large crowds. She enjoyed being able to blend into the crowd and the fact that, in large crowds, conversations were mostly kept light and impersonal. On the other hand, she fucking hated being with so many dumb asses all the time. Like that batarian asshole. Her anger shot up again and she started to regret not punching him when she had had the chance. Large crowds greatly increased the risks of having to deal with people from time to time. Obviously not her favorite activity. She preferred to simply be alone with her thoughts, but not for too long. She had some horrible things in her head, and from time to time she needed to vent off by interacting with another being, preferably through fighting. Being alone also posed the danger of her getting cornered in a one on one conversation if somebody should find her, something she absolutely dreaded. She had always been so bad at talking to people face to face without eventually scaring them off or hurting them. Being on The Normandy had greatly improved her people skills though. Between Shepard coming down to chat to her and the banter with Garrus Vakarian and Joker she had actually begun to enjoy their little talks. It was nice to finally get to talk about some of the horrific things that had happened to her in the past, and she really trusted Shepard and most of his crew. The commander blowing The Teltin facility sky high had brought her some closure and she had successfully lived in the relatively confined space that was The Normandy without hurting anyone. Not even the Cerberus personnel. She had stuck to sleeping in the lower engineering level though, still needing to be alone most of the time.

She stepped into a crowded elevator, once again causing a bit of a stir with the people already crammed into the metal box that would take her to The Presidium. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. She had been on The Citadel on several occasions, but this was her first visit to The Presidium. To her surprise she could feel that she was actually a bit nervous about this meeting she was going to.

The elevator stopped and everyone hurried out and scurried off in a hundred different directions. Jack took a second to enjoy the artificially sunlit sky and noticed a keeper doing... well... something... to the control box of the elevator she had just left. The Citadel's security force, C-Sec, was a lot less visible her on the presidium, and though she knew perfectly well, that that didn't mean they weren't watching her every move, it made her feel a little bit more at ease. Not that she was planning on doing anything unlawful, but her years on the wrong side of the law had taught her to associate cops with hesitation and fear. She certainly felt better when she couldn't feel the breath of several C-Sec officers on her neck. She was nervous enough as it were.

When she received the invitation from Dr. Sanders to meet her on The Citadel for a job interview, she had initially thought it to be a joke planned by Shepard and that obnoxious pilot of his. When it turned out that The Alliance had actually head hunted her for this job, and that Sanders genuinely wanted to meet her today on The Presidium, she contemplated simply turning down the invitation right away. Shepard, however, had talked her into at least going to the interview to see what the job even was.

As she was walking along the Presidium Lake, she still had no idea what kind of job Dr. Sanders was going to offer her. She snorted, unable to believe that The Alliance had really ever wanted to employ her. Subject Zero, the biotic maniac, murderer, vandal and convict. _There must have been some sort of mistake, _she thought.

_This is such a waste of time._

-X-X-X-

Arriving at the location of her interview, Jack nervously knocked on the door.

"Please, come in" a soft voice said, barely audible to Jack in the busy hallway.

Jack entered, still holding the door ajar with her foot. Best to be able to flee quickly if this was some sort of trap.

"Dr. Sanders?" She asked.

The blond woman who was sat behind a desk in the middle of the room nodded with a smile.

_Bollocks! _Jack thought, _another pretty, fluffy bunny female officer. What is it with humanity? Why all these cheerleaders in positions of power?_

She sighed and moved towards the chair opposite Sanders. Jack didn't want to judge her based solely on her looks. Enough people did that to herself, and as far as she was concerned, they were all wrong in their assumptions.

"Good morning Jack" Sanders said, still smiling.

"Hey"

"I bet you are dying to know what this interview is all about, huh?"

Sanders was now positively grinning at Jack, who shrugged indifferently. On the inside Jack was in fact VERY eager to hear about this mystery job, but she wasn't about to let that show.

Dr. Sanders continued.

"Let me get to the point then. I am a director at the Jon Grissom Academy. Have you heard of it?"

Jack nodded and Sanders went on.

"Then you are probably aware that we offer training and acclimatization for human kids with biotic abilities in something called The Ascension Project. I am the commanding officer, head director and Alliance representative of this project. The Ascension Project is split in two. We have basic training which teaches kids basic biotics and the role of biotics in society. The students will be in basic training from when they have their amplifiers implanted, but some of them have been with us since they were much younger. The second part of the project is much newer and offers advanced training for our older students. At the age of eighteen we will allow the willing students to start taking advanced classes. The students will earn the military rank of ensign, and their training will be militarily oriented. The Alliance is planning for the students to form a strong biotic squad when they graduate from our academy, but the students are not forced into anything, and they may leave the project and The Alliance at any time."

There was a short moment of silence. Jack realized that she had been starring at her knees during Sanders' speech, and she glanced up at the blond doctor, returning her smile with a small nervous one of her own.

"We need a new instructor for our advanced class. This is where you come in." Dr. Sanders said.

Jack snorted loudly.

"Hah, you want me to be a teacher? For kids? Tell me doctor, have you even read my file?" Jack said, laughing and expecting Sanders to get insulted. However, Dr. Kahlee Sanders didn't seem the least bit upset.

"Trust me, Jack. I've seen your file, and I am not going to lie to you, the files of many other possible candidates. Of the people available you are by far the most qualified." She said.

"But doctor," Jack almost whispered, "I am a criminal. I've fucking killed people."

"WAS a criminal... Jack, I can say, on behalf of The Systems Alliance, that you have fully redeemed yourself, at least in the eyes of humanity, by your effort to stop the collector attacks." Sanders quickly said.

"All those shenanigans were sponsored by Cerberus. Doesn't that bother you?" Jack asked.

"It does." Kahlee said in the most strict voice that Jack had heard her use. "But you were successful regardless, and as I said, I've read your file and I can think we can trust you, if anyone, in claiming that you will never again work with Cerberus."

"Yeah. Fat chance." jack said dryly.

Dr. Sanders giggled and Jack couldn't hold back a stifled laugh, though thinking of the main reason why she would never trust Cerberus brought her much pain. She had moved on though, and there was now a big fat hole in Pragia's surface where The Teltin Facility had once been.

Remembering her days as Subject Zero she asked:

"You're not forcing these kids to do anything then? You're not experimenting with fucked up means of biotic enhancement? Not forcing them to fight each other? If I learn that this academy of yours is not what you say it is, I will crash the entire station into a hanar moon."

"Jack," Kahlee said softly, "Grissom Academy is nothing like Teltin. The place was abominable."

Jack nodded. _Tell me about it..._

Then Jack and Dr. Sanders discussed the importance of amplifiers versus the "natural" potential of human biotics. Jack was very impressed with the doctor's knowledge and understanding of biotics. She greatly exceeded her own knowledge of the functioning of biotic amps, and she had a very good understanding of the theory behind using biotics. Better than many biotics, and she didn't even posses any biotic talent herself. Jack thought to herself, that maybe Sanders wasn't a fluffy bunny cheerleader after all.

-X-X-X-

"So... Doc, why me? Why not somebody else from your list of candidates?" Jack asked after a short bathroom break.

"Let me be honest with you Jack," Sanders said sincerely, "it wasn't like there was a lot of serious competition. First of all, we have a strict policy saying that all of our staff has to be human. There are relatively few human biotics, even fewer with actual combat experience. You may be young, but I think that you might very well be the most powerful human biotic of all. You are certainly in top three. Though most of your experience comes from doing things that are morally very questionable, it still counts as experience. Thusly, you are one of the humans in the galaxy with the most experience in the field. Ironically, it seems that your less than optimal background actually worked to your advantage when we were looking through the candidates. The Teltin Facility, although extremely wrong, made you unbelievably strong, and the career that eventually got you locked up in cryo on Purgatory, which was also very wrong, gave you valuable experience. Our students are incredibly talented, so when we need new instructors, we will only hire the very best."

"Okay okay, I get it! You want me for your school" Jack said. She didn't respond well to being called "the best".

She shifted in her chair and rubbed her neck.

"Let's say that I accept this job," Jack said, "how many students are we talking about?"

"We can't be sure yet. A few students have already accepted our offer of advanced classes, but we don't have the full number yet. I actually just came back from earth after talking to a student who will be joining the class. But I think that we can safely assume that there will be fewer than ten students in advanced class." Dr. Sanders said, arching her back. She was clearly a little stiff from all the traveling.

"Less than ten, huh? Doesn't sound too bad." Jack added. "So, where can I sign?"

A huge smile appeared on Kahlee Sanders' face, and she quickly pulled a data pad out from under her desk.

"You won't regret this Jack," Kahlee said as Jack was signing the data pad, "it is truly rewarding to work with these talented young people."

"Anything else that I should know?" Jack asked, as she finished her signature.

"Yes." Sanders said laughing. "We have a swear jar."

_Fuck!_


	4. Arrival

Chapter Four - Arrival

"Next stop will be Grissom Academy" the pilot announced over the public shuttle's loudspeakers.

Jack felt a bit queasy, not from the shuttle ride, it had only been a short while since she boarded on Elysium, but from the thought of the challenge she had accepted. She still doubted that she had done the right thing by agreeing to come here. Maybe it would be best for her, and probably the students too, if she just didn't set foot on that station. She had felt fear and anxiety before a lot of raids and missions, not least the suicidal attack on the collector base that she and everyone else in Commander Shepard's crew miraculously survived. This was very different though. Normally she would deal with being nervous by insulting everyone around her to seem on top of the situation and by indulging in merciless killing of anyone who got in her way. She had a feeling, she would be able to do neither of those things at the academy.

She felt the speed of the shuttle starting to decrease, and soon after she felt a soft vibration as they docked at the station. The shuttle doors slid open and Jack jumped off along with two other passengers. She had a bag hung over her shoulders with some extra clothes and a couple of other personal belongings that she'd thought she might need. Glancing around the docking station, as the shuttle sped off into space behind her, she noticed two guards in Alliance uniforms looking royally bored but utterly professional. At least the station had a little security staff, but Jack still thought that this place would have looked like an open buffet had she still been a criminal. She shook the thought from her head. Those days were behind her. After she had begun to trust Shepard, his boy scout attitude had really begun to rub off on her, and she knew within herself, that she would never repeat the horrible mistakes she made in the past.

A door on the opposite site of the room had opened, and a familiar blonde with a friendly smile stepped through, her arms opened up in wide gesture.

"Welcome to Grissom Academy, Jack, it is nice to see you again." Dr. Kahlee Sanders greeted her.

Jack just nodded, but the corners of her mouth were pulled upwards as by an invisible force. Something about this Sanders woman's friendly behavior caused her to smile, even when she tried to put on her sulkiest face. In that sense, she was a bit like Shepard and Joker with whom she had shared the most laughs during her time aboard The Normandy.

"You look healthy. I really like the new hair."

Jack smiled nervously, brushing a strand of hair away from her eyes. Since she had last met Dr. Sanders, she had grown her hair into something that resembled a very long Mohawk which she usually tied into a ponytail. The sides of her head she still kept shaved, showing of the series of tattooed symbols that followed the curve of her skull.

Sanders took a few elegant steps towards Jack and shook her hand while, to Jack's surprise, her left hand was resting on Jack's right shoulder.

"Your new look is absolutely gorgeous, Jack." she sighed, sliding her hand upwards from Jack's shoulder towards her temple, her eyes fixed on the younger woman's newly acquired dark brown locks. "I love that you have combined the pretty ponytail with your raw shaven bad ass look" she finished with a grin.

Jack was shivering a bit from the closeness of the other woman. She wasn't used to people touching her gently and certainly not accustomed to hearing positive remarks on her physical appearance. Dr. Sanders was really something special, and Jack decided right there and then, that she would go to great lengths not to disappoint this woman.

"Shall we?" Kahlee said, gesturing at the still open door behind her.

Jack shrugged, silently accepting the older woman to lead her through the opening.

They walked down a long hallway that, according to Sanders, housed the offices of the station's security detail and the Alliance officials that would sometimes pay the academy a visit to monitor their not so unsubstantial investment. Finally they reached the elevator at the end of the hallway, and Jack followed her guide into the unusually large elevator car. Dr. Sanders pressed a button that said _Orion Hall_and they were swiftly taken down many floors before finally coming to a stop.

"Orion Hall" a softly spoken, but clearly artificial female voice announced.

The doors opened, and Jack took a step back, as she was hit by a wall of noise from the hallway. She followed Sanders out into the hallway which was teeming with teenagers. Sanders looked back at Jack over her right shoulder with a smile and motioned for her to follow her through the mass of students. Jack took a deep breath and stayed close to the doctor. Though the hall was tightly packed with students, a path seemed to be carved in front of Sanders and her guest as they strolled down the hallway. Many of the student's nodded at Kahlee and greeted her even though she wasn't even working in their departments. Jack could feel that her employer was insanely popular and appreciated by the student body at large, and she could understand why. She was youthful, intelligent, beautiful and kind, but also possessed the strictness and discipline necessary when working with teenagers.

"Good evening Dr. Sanders" a small girl said, as the two adults passed by. Kahlee smiled at her, not knowing her name, but she could tell from her uniform that she was a student from the chemistry department. Probably some sort of twelve year old prodigy. Jack also tried to form something that would resemble a smile at the girl, but maybe it didn't work, because the girl just stared at her, obviously trying to digest the style of the woman in front of her. Semi-naked upper body, shaven sides of the head and countless tattoos obviously wasn't a very common look at The Grissom Academy. The girl, like many of the other students, continued to stare at Sander's guest long after the two women had passed by.

They rounded a corner and stepped into a giant open room. One of the biggest rooms that Jack had ever seen on a space station.

"This," Sanders said, gesturing out into open space, "is Orion Hall."

Jack's mouth stood wide open, but only nearly as wide open as her eyes. She looked up towards the ceiling, which appeared to be at least 4 stories above their heads. The room was filled with hundreds of round tables, and she estimated that at least two thousand of the academy's students would be able to eat in Orion Hall at any time. Many students were currently enjoying their dinner and it took quite a while for Jack and Kahlee to cross the room.

Finally they reached a large opening in the wall on the opposite site of the room. They rounded a couple of corners, and by now Jack had lost all sense of direction, before stopping in front of a big door. Over the door was a bright white sign that read:

_Ascension Project_

They stepped through the door into another hallway.

"This is home of the biotics department." Sanders announced. "Here you will find all of our classrooms, our offices and of course our practice hall."

"Looks good" Jack said, sincerely impressed.

"Having the best facilities comes with being the best. We are undoubtedly the best at educating biotic humans. No need to be modest, we are simply the best." Sanders said, her voice laced with pride. "Let me take you to my office."

As Jack stepped into Sanders' office her first thought was, that the room was much smaller than she had expected it to be. It was extremely simply furnished, containing only the bare necessities. Most of the space in the office was taken up by a desk with a computer on it. Behind the desk was a comfortable looking chair. In front of it where two less expensive looking chairs for guests in the office of the popular Dr. Sanders. Behind the desk Jack could see an anonymously looking door, which she guessed lead to Kahlee's private chambers. The walls were exactly like on the rest of the station, white and impersonal, but Sanders had been able to personalize her office by hanging up a couple of pictures of Alliance frigates, Earth, mass relays and The Citadel. On her desk stood a photo of a man, who Jack recognized to be the legendary Alliance hero Jon Grissom, the first human to ever use a mass relay and the man whose name had been honored with the creation of the space station on which she now stood.

"Drink?" Kahlee asked, pointing for Jack to have a seat in one of the guest chairs.

"Sure." Jack said, accepting the glass of purple liquid presented to her.

"Would you like to see your uniform?" Sanders asked, removing her own Alliance Jacket.

Jack lifted one eyebrow.

"Uniform?"

"yes"

"Dr. Sanders, that is just not going to happen." Jack said, not sounding as tough as she would have wished.

Kahlee looked like she was thinking hard for a moment, but then lit up in a smile.

"hmmm... I am afraid that our rules clearly state that you are required to wear our instructor's uniform while teaching. However, there are no rules in place against altering the appearance of the uniform." she said, holding up the Ascension Project instructor's uniform.

Jack looked up and down the uniform a couple of times before deciding that she didn't exactly hate it. Now that she was allowed to make alterations, she would of course be able to make it more her style, but not a whole lot had to be done. The black military style combat boots she really liked, nothing would have to be done with those. The pants were in a grayish camouflage pattern, she was also going to leave them as they were for now. There was a white shirt-like piece of cloth, that she would definitely be doing something with and a small black jacket, that she knew just how to improve. Good thing she had packed those metal studs in her bag.

Jack took a sip of her drink and leaned back in her seat, feeling tired and ready to go to sleep. Kahlee seemed to pick up on her signals.

"I can show you to your office, if you would like to get some shuteye." she asked.

"Sure, I could use some sleep" Jack replied, finishing her drink and rising from her chair.

"Where do the students sleep?" Jack asked, as she and Kahlee stepped back into the Ascension Project hallway.

"All Ascension Project education is performed in these classrooms, but our students live in their own private rooms which are situated in large living complexes throughout the station. We want the students to be a part of society, so we want them to live between the rest of the students. The last thing we want to do is to isolate the students of The Ascension Project from the rest of the students. All of our students' rooms are relatively close to this hallway though. No need to spread them all over the station." Kahlee explained.

Jack couldn't help but to feel jealous. What if she hadn't been abducted by Cerberus and isolated in a cell on Pragia? Could she had become a student of The Ascension Project? What kind of person would she had been then?

She shook her head, trying to put aside the thought. No good ever came from dwelling on the past.

Sanders had stopped in front of a door with a sign saying:

_Ascension Project - Advanced Class_

_Instructor Jacqueline Nought_

Before Jack could comment on this, Kahlee explained the name that had been printed on the door.

"I know that you are not aware of the name that was given to you by your parents, but I thought that you should have a full name on your door at least. I know from The Alliance's file on you that this is a name you have used in the past. Please, let me know if you don't like it. I can have it changed if you would like?"

"No, this will be fine" Jack said dryly.

Both women entered the office. Jack was a bit surprised to see that it was laid out exactly as Sanders' had been. She had expected the head director of the project to have a more luxurious office than the rest of the staff, but their offices were exactly alike. The same exact furniture and everything. The only thing missing was the personal touch. The walls in this office were blank, and there were no pictures on the desk. They continued through the door behind the desk, and as Jack had guessed, they were led into what was going to be her new home. Her personal living quarters. The room was roughly the same size as the office in front of it, complete with a comfortable looking bed, a bookshelf, a small table and on the wall hang a news network screen. There was also another door leading into a bathroom with a bathtub. It wasn't a big room, but it had everything that she needed, and she was sure, that she would be able to feel at home here.

"You like?" Sanders asked.

"Yeah", Jack answered, "it will do".

"Okay Jack, then I will let you get some rest" Sanders said, elegantly turning on her heel to make her way back to her office.

"Wait!" Jack yelled, causing Kahlee to look back at her with a lifted eyebrow, an amused look on her face.

"Yes?"

"I have one more question"

"Absolutely Jack, fire away!" Sanders replied enthusiastically.

Jack's thoughts were racing. How would she be able to ask this question without making Sanders want to fire her before she even began? She decided on a straight forward approach.

"As you know, this teaching business is completely new to me," she began, "and in all honesty, I just don't know what I am supposed to teach them. Is there like a curriculum or anything like that?"

"No Jack, there is no curriculum. Advanced class is still a very, very new concept. We decided that we would leave it up to you. It will be your job to plan their classes and design tests." Sanders answered, not exactly calming Jack down.

"But... but..." she stuttered.

"Relax Jack, we know you can do this. I know you can do this! I wouldn't have hired you if I didn't trust your skill and judgment. I know that you will take good care of my beloved students. I have a feeling that they are going to love your colorful personality, and I know that you are biotically competent beyond what we could have hoped for. There is no way that you could fail us, you are simply too proud to do so." Kahlee said, patting Jack gently on the back.

She turned to walk out of her new employee's room.

"I'll see you at breakfast tomorrow, and please, Jack, try to relax. Everything will be just fine. Goodnight."

"Goodnight" Jack muttered in return.

Jack was way too upset to fall asleep now, and she began cutting up the white uniform shirt and adding metal studs to her black jacket, which had been left on her bed by Dr. Sanders. She was still very nervous about having to actually be responsible for the education of a class of teenagers. If some of them decided to pursue military careers, they would be put in very dangerous situations, and if she hadn't taught them well enough, they could get killed. And it would be her fault.

She had never had that kind of responsibility put upon her before, and it made her extremely nervous, but also very excited. The first impression of the academy had been better than she could have ever imagined, and she was anxious to get started.

Finally, she collapsed on her bed and immediately drifted off into dreamless sleep.

-X-X-X-

Charles Magnus had never been this excited in his entire life. He had just traveled all the way from Earth to Elysium, fulfilling his biggest dream in life: Space flight. He was now aboard the Grissom Academy shuttle, that would take him from the surface of Elysium to the space station that was going to be his home for the next four years.

He was terrifyingly nervous of how he was going to perform in class. It had been a couple of months since he had undergone the complicated amplifier implant, but his biotic powers were still completely unfamiliar to him, and he still hadn't been able to perform any kind of useful biotic skill. He had no idea how much his class mates were able to do, and with no one to compare himself to, it was hard for him to know just how underdeveloped his biotics actually were.

Dr. Sanders had explained to him, that the other students had received training since their early teens, so Charles was sure that they would be able to do at least... something, and he was very nervous at the thought of how his class mates would react when they learned that he couldn't even perform the simplest tricks in the books. During his first ever space travel, though, most of his concerns had been replaced by utter happiness and excitation.

He looked across the seats to the only two people other than him in the shuttle. The two boys, looking to be no more than thirteen or fourteen years old, were both wearing lab coats and were currently in a heated scientific discussion, the contents of which was so far over Charles' head, that they might as well have spoken in another language. In fact it seemed to him that they were doing exactly that. One of the boys looked up for a second, noticing that Charles was staring at them. Charles half expected that he would be angry with him for eavesdropping on their conversation, but the boy just gave him a shy little smile before continuing the discussion with his comrade.

Soon after the shuttle docked at the Academy, and the two boys scurried down a hallway still caught up in their discussion about something called Tantalus Drive Core Technology. Whatever that was.

Dr. Sanders greeted Charles in the arrival hall.

"Nice to see you again Mr. Magnus. How was space?"

"Incredible!" Charles replied, still trying to fathom that he was now standing on the space station that he had dreamed about every night for months.

Kahlee let out a soft laugh.

"Have you had any complications with your implants?" she asked curiously.

Charles shook his head.

"None that weren't anticipated by the doctors. I had some rather nasty migraines the first week, but since then I haven't felt a thing."

Sanders nodded understandingly.

"Yes, I hear that the time following the procedure can be a bit harsh. But I am glad that you are fine now."

She made a gesture for him to follow her, which he did willingly.

-X-X-X-

Walking down the hallways of the station, he noticed how the other students were wearing very different uniforms. Apparently, the different departments had their own uniforms, which would serve the needs of their particular students. Some of the students, like the boys in the shuttle were wearing lab coats, others were clad in Alliance uniforms, but most of the students wore school uniforms in different colors according to their department. These uniforms in either red, blue, black, blue, yellow, grey or green looked like normal civilian clothing, but in just one color and with a Grissom Academy logo on the chest.

They walked through an enormous room with hundreds of tables, which Dr. Sanders presented as Orion Hall.

"This is our biggest hall on the station." she said. "This is where you will enjoy your meals and from time to time we throw some huge parties in here."

"Parties, ma'am?" Charles hadn't seen that coming. The academy seemed like a place that took itself way too serious to throw any kind of parties.

"Sure! Every once in a while we throw a party for our older students. Usually they are very entertaining." Kahlee exclaimed with a bright smile on her face, as she opened a door that lead them away from the gigantic Orion Hall and into what seemed to be and endless web of hallways that all looked exactly the same. Along the hallways were hundreds of doors. Charles read the description on one of them as they passed by:

_Wesley Gervais,_

_Xeno-sociology_

He guessed that all of these doors led to the private rooms of students, and he began reading as many of the doors as he could while following Dr. Sanders through the station. He was very impressed with the diversity of subjects that were being taught at the academy, as he read the inscription on the door belonging to Viktorya Telolenko, classical music.

At this point Charles had lost all sense of direction. These hallways resembled a giant maze where all the walls looked completely alike. The doors were also completely similar to each other, the only difference between each one being the name and department of the student living behind it. Every time they turned a corner or opened a door, they would just encounter a new hallway similar to the one they had just left.

"Confusing, huh?" Dr. Sanders asked, as if she had read his thoughts.

"Very" he replied, skirting around a group of giggling girls in yellow uniforms trying to force their way into the room of a student engineer named Thomas Sterk. Mr. Sterk, apparently, was very popular with the ladies.

"Tsk! Girls..." Kahlee muttered, shaking her head but smiling as the girls attempted to squeeze themselves through the narrow door all at once.

"As I was just about to say, Mr. Magnus," she continued, "these hallways can be quite confusing at first glance, but after some time everybody gets used to it."

Relieved, Charles followed Dr. Sanders around a couple of turns, rode an elevator up one floor and finally ended up in front of a door with his name on it.

_Charles Magnus,_

_Ascension Project (Advanced)_

Dr. Sanders rummaged through her pocket, eventually pulling out an ID card also imprinted with his name. She handed him the card.

"Here, take this. This will allow you to gain entrance to your room and some of the facilities in the Ascension Department that are only open to students within the project."

Charles took the card and swiped it over the sensor of his door, which immediately retracted upwards allowing him and Dr. Sanders access to the room. Charles' first thought was that the room appeared very sterile and impersonal. There weren't really any colors in the room, it was all in white plastic and metal. Other than that, it was perfect. It was already furnished with a desk, chair and a queen sized bed, and on the wall hang a large vid screen.

"You are free to put up any pictures, posters, plants or anything like that you might have brought." Kahlee stated, her eyes briefly flicked down to the bag on Charles' hip. "These rooms are so boring in their default design, but some of our students have made theirs look wonderful and personal."

Charles nodded and Dr. Sanders continued.

"As you can see, there is no bathroom in here. You will be sharing a bathroom with the other boys in this hallway. You'll find it just a couple of doors further down the hall."

She sat down on the chair and motioned for him to take a seat on the bed.

"I am required to go over our rules with you, before I let you go to sleep." Kahlee said, guiltily as she could see that the young man sitting on the bed across from her was knackered.

"Sure." Charles said.

"The first rule is maybe the most important as it affects the safety of the entire station. You are required to carry your ID card with you at all times, so that you may identify yourself to our security staff. You are not allowed to give your card to anyone, not to other students or your instructors and certainly not to anyone from outside this station. Furthermore I must ask you that you do not reveal any information about the station to outsiders. If you want to tell your parents about what you are learning here, by all means do so, but please refrain from telling them anything that might jeopardize the security of the station."

Charles nodded, thinking that rule number one was very sensible.

Dr. Sanders continued to list a number of rules. Some of them addressing security, but many of them were about behavior towards the other students and the staff. All of them seemed reasonable to Charles.

"Finally," Kahlee finished, "we have our last rule. This one only applies to the Ascension Project. You are not allowed to use your biotic powers outside of the designated gym, or without permission from an instructor. Use of biotics on any living being is prohibited unless your instructor tells you to do so as part of an exercise."

"Dr. Sanders," Charles interrupted, "I have something that I think I need to tell you"

She looked into his blue eyes, but he quickly bowed his head and stared at the floor, looking very shameful.

Trembling, he murmured.

"I will not be breaking that last rule... be...because I can't do any biotics at all. I can make my fists glow, but that is it."

He felt like shit, and his hands were shaking violently, actually glowing very slightly around the white knuckles. He had disappointed Dr. Sanders, and he was sure that she would ask him to leave the academy, when she learned just how useless he was.

He dared a glance at the face of the blonde. To his relief, she didn't appear disappointed or angry. Instead she looked at him with a pair of very compassionate eyes. She rose from her chair and took a seat beside him on the bed. She smelled wonderfully, and Charles was suddenly very aware, that he was sitting on a bed, his bed, with a woman next to him. She placed a hand between his shoulder blades and their eyes connected.

"Look, Charles. I know how you must feel about joining the advanced class almost straight out of the operating room. It has only been a few months since you had your implants, and you haven't had any training whatsoever. Frankly, I would have been insanely surprised if your biotics had already fully developed by now."

She said, while gently rubbing his back.

"But what about my class mates, will I not be too far behind?" he asked, still not convinced.

"I am not going to lie to you," she replied in a serious voice, "your classmates have developed spectacular biotic skills, which is why they are here. But you have to remember that they started out just like you, and if you can reach the potential that our tests hint at, you will be just as good as them, or maybe even better. Your situation is unique. We have never done this before, and we don't know how fast your biotics will develop under these circumstances."

"And what happens if I don't improve? Will you send me home?"

Kahlee's hand froze on his back.

"Oh Charles, let me assure you, we will not give up on you. Don't misunderstand me, if you wish to quit the project, you are free to do so, but I think that would be a terrible waste, and we would really like to have you here. I think we should stick to the plan, and let you start in the advanced class. Then, after some time, if you feel that it would be better for you to join the basics class, I will let you make that decision. But let me remind you, that the students in basics are all twelve or thirteen years old. I don't think that they would be able to socially stimulate you as much as your peers in advanced class."

He shook his head.

"I will not quit, and I will not join the basics class. I want to learn, I just... I just want this."

Kahlee smile and patted his back enthusiastically.

"'Atta boy! I will let you get some sleep now. Classes won't start in a couple of days, so you should be able to settle in first."

She rose from the bed and walked towards the door.

"Oh! Almost forgot. Your uniforms are in the closet."

She opened it and drew out a basic military uniform in red and black. As she held it up in front of him, he noticed the logo of the Ascension Project on the chest.

"Cool!" he laughed.

She smiled and placed the uniform back in the closet.

"Sleep tight... Ensign Magnus" she said, and closed the door behind her as she left the room.

* * *

_A/N_

_Ok gang, this was a long one._

_I have 3 more chapters almost ready for upload, look out because they will be up soon._

_I would like to thank the people who follow my story, it means a lot to me, and it will definitely help my writing along._

_Again, feel free to leave a review or send me a PM if you have any questions or ideas._

_Welcome to new readers as well._

_Thank you._

_- Simon_


	5. Meeting New People

Chapter Five - Meeting new people

Charles had slept like a rock and he woke up very early and started to unpack his belongings. Not that he had brought a lot of stuff. He pulled some clothes out of his bag and placed it in the closet next to the uniforms. He decided to try on his new uniform, not knowing if Dr. Sanders had gotten his size right. He was rather tall, so he was used to clothes not fitting him completely, but when he slipped into the red and black uniform he happily noticed that it fit him perfectly.

He looked up and down himself, thinking that he liked the way he looked in the Ascension Project uniform. Charles had never had clothes like this before. The uniform was quite a slim fit, but he could feel that it still allowed for him to make any kind of movements that he might need to make. The fabric felt very strong but was still extremely flexible. He decided to keep the uniform on and continued to unpack his bag.

He had only brought one picture with him. A photograph of his parents on their wedding day with a two year old Charles resting on his father's arm. He looked at the picture, knowing that he would eventually begin to miss his parents. Luckily, he thought, that would be the only thing he was going to miss from his old life back on earth. He placed the framed photo on the desk and threw his now empty bag into the bottom of his closet.

He felt his stomach complain and realized, that he was hungry. Breakfast was being served in Orion Hall, and Charles felt fairly confident that he would be able to find the giant hall, even though the station was like a maze, so he decided to go.

It was still pretty early in the morning, and the hallway wasn't exactly teeming with life. As he walked towards Orion Hall, sleepy faces popped out from doors as he passed by. The closer he got to the Hall the more populated the hallways were. Around him were students in lab coats, pajamas and civilian clothes all headed towards breakfast at Orion. He noticed that the other students were looking at him differently now that he was wearing his Ascension Project uniform. Most of the other kids moved out of his way as he walked down the hall, and he got the impression that the students of the Ascension Project were either very respected or feared by the rest of the student body. He certainly hoped that it wasn't the latter. He wouldn't want to be the cause of fear at a place that he had just arrived at the day before.

As he arrived in Orion Hall, he was once again impressed by the sheer size of the room. It was still too early for most of the students to be having breakfast, so it wasn't hard to find an empty round table after he had grabbed some cereal that he knew from earth. There were many different kinds of breakfast available to him, most of them he had never seen before, and he was certain that several of the fruits he had seen didn't grow on his home planet. He hadn't thought about that earlier, but he had heard that humans could eat some food that only grew on other planets. He had also heard that some kinds of alien foods would make humans dangerously sick, but he was sure that those kinds of foods wouldn't even be available at the all human Grissom Academy. Still, he decided to stick to his cereal.

Finishing his breakfast, he monitored the students at the tables closest to his. None of them were wearing the Ascension Project uniform, though many of them were in civilian clothes, so there was no way for Charles to know if they were in his class or not. Kahlee Sanders had told him that students were free to wear civilian clothes on free days like this one, but Charles could tell that many of the young men and women at the surrounding tables still wore their uniforms. A young couple, probably around Charles' age, were laughing and sharing passionate kisses at the nearest table, while spoon feeding each other some kind of yellowish fruit. The young man was wearing a uniform exactly similar to Charles', but in a different color. Where Charles' Ascension Project uniform was dark red and black, the other's uniform was green and black and without the Ascension Project logo on the chest. The girl, who was wearing protection glasses with an orange tint, was clad in a white lab coat. All of the other students at the table either wore the same uniform as the young man or their personal clothes. A short haired girl dressed in the green and black uniform looked up from her breakfast and her eyes locked with Charles' for a split second. She gave him a shy smile. Embarrassed to be caught staring Charles' eyes shot back down to his cereal. When he finally dared to take a peek at the table, the girl was in deep conversation with her classmates and the girl in the lab coat.

Having finished his breakfast Charles decided to go back to his room to message his parents. They had agreed that he would write them as soon as he arrived at the academy, but he hadn't gotten around to it yet, so they were probably worried sick.

After making a couple of wrong turns, Charles found himself walking by the entrance to the Ascension Project hallway. Just as he passed by the door, it opened and a tall and sweaty man stepped out from the limited access hall. He had short brown hair and a cheeky grin on his face and he was wearing an Ascension Project uniform similar to Charles'. From his sweaty appearance Charles guessed that the other had just been doing some sort of training in the Ascension Hall.

"Hey bro! Nice uniform! You must be the new guy, yeah?" he said, recognizing Charles as one of his own.

"Yes, I am Charles Magnus."

"Cool. My name is Jason. Jason Prangley." The man said extending a fist, which Charles hesitantly bumped causing Jason's smile to grow.

"I was just hittin' the gym. Gotta work to look this good, yeah?" He grinned.

Charles nodded indifferently, but had to admit that Prangley sure had a very trimmed appearance.

Charles started walking slowly down the hall, not knowing how to talk to the weird Jason Prangley, but his muscular class mate stayed at his side.

"I live just a couple of doors down from your room, ya' know." Prangley continued, "I've been on this station since I was six years old, so I'm almost like royalty."

"Is that so?" Charles asked, one eyebrow raised in disbelief.

Prangley didn't seem to notice the sarcasm in Charles' voice, and he continued to talk about himself and his brilliance, until they stood outside the door to Charles' room. Charles swiped his ID card and entered his room preparing to bid Prangley farewell, but to his surprise the other student not only followed him into his room, but jumped onto his bed and made himself comfortable.

"So, Mr. Magnus, what have ya' got?" He asked, still grinning.

"Excuse me?" Charles asked, completely unaware what Prangley was talking about. Was he expected to offer him something?

"You know, what can ya' do? Biotically, I mean." Jason Prangley clarified.

Before Charles even had a chance to answer, Prangley had biotically lifted a pen up from his table. The pen hovered in midair for a few seconds before Prangley sent it zooming across the room with a lazy flick of his wrist. It was hard for Charles not to express his fascination with the display of biotic power he had just witnessed. He had never seen anyone actually performing biotics, except for in the vids. Trying to hide his excitation, as he didn't want to add to Prangley's already extensive ego, he strode across the room to his closet, where the pen had lodged itself in the door.

"Impressive. But I thought we weren't supposed to use biotics outside of the designated areas in Ascension Hall?" Charles said coolly, as he pulled the pen from the closet door with great difficulty.

"Bah! As long as you don't do it in front of the instructors or on somebody else... Trust me, they don't like that" Prangley said in a gloomy tone, obviously remembering the trouble he had gotten into by breaking that particular rule in the past. "So, what about you? Let's see what you've got!"

"I can't." Charles replied in a low voice.

"C'mon, don't be such a fucking goody two-shoes, we have enough of those here already. No one will ever know you did anything."

"That's not what I meant. Even if I wanted to, I couldn't."

There was a moment's silence in which Jason Prangley looked utterly perplexed.

"What do ya' mean?" he finally asked.

Charles sighed.

"My biotics haven't developed yet, so I am currently unable to do anything remotely useful."

"What!?" Prangley shouted. "Nothing at all? Then what the hell are you doing here?"

Feeling very hurt, but determined not to show it, Charles answered.

"Dr. Sanders believes that my biotics will develop as my education here progresses."

"Let's hope so, because the rest of us here are pretty damn spectacular." Prangley said. It didn't sound like he was boasting, he was merely stating a fact. "Well, some more than others" he laughed, now definitely boasting.

Charles just nodded. He couldn't believe how obnoxious and self-centered Jason Prangley was.

Suddenly, a sharp high pitched noise interrupted their conversation. Not knowing what it meant, Charles didn't know how to react. Luckily, Prangley noticed Charles' confusion.

"That's your doorbell. It means that someone is requesting access to your room."

Charles pressed a button and the door slid upward with a whooshing sound.

"Ah, the freaks are in the house!" Prangley exclaimed, as a male and a female student in Ascension Project uniforms stepped in.

He rose from the bed. "It's getting awfully crammed in here, Prangley out."

Before leaving the room he turned to the two newly arrived students.

"Hey Nielsen and Rodriguez, this guy might actually make you two look good. He says he can't do anything. See ya!"

The female shook her head, clearly used to Prangley's abuse.

She had black wavy hair that was tied into a ponytail. Charles thought that she was very pretty, and when she smiled, he could feel that he was grinning like a fool. What a winning smile. The boy next to her was slightly taller than her, but he was still far from the height of Charles. His short hair was dyed blond, and he too was smiling in spite of Prangley's insult just seconds earlier.

"You'll have to excuse Prangley. He is actually a very skilled biotic." The girl said in a soft voice.

"Yeah, too bad he's such a giant douche bag" the boy added with a smirk.

She hit him playfully on the shoulder. "Don't say that Kurt. He's not that bad."

"Girl, you just like him because he could bench press the Citadel." The boy, apparently named Kurt, joked laughingly.

"I do NOT like Jason Prangley. I just think he is misunderstood." she explained, once again punching Kurt's shoulder.

They both turned to face Charles.

"I'm sorry, we're being rude. I'm Kurt Nielsen and this charming little thing is Vera Rodriguez. We are both in the Ascension Project. We met Dr. Sanders at breakfast and she told us that the new guy had arrived, and that we should pay you a visit, and here we are."

"Hello, I'm Charles Magnus." Charles said, shaking both of their hands.

"Yup, saw it on the door. Cool name!" Kurt said with an approving nod.

"Thanks... I guess" Charles muttered, not wanting to take credit for something he hadn't influenced at all.

"We wanted to welcome you to the academy, and if there is anything you need, just ask us." Vera offered.

"Thank you, that's really nice of you."

"So, is it true?" Kurt asked, "what Prangley said. You can't do biotics?"

"Kurt Nielsen! What kind of question is that" Vera yelled, elbowing her class mate in the ribs.

"No no, it's true." Charles interrupted, waving his hands in dismissal. "According to the doctors, I have the potential to develop biotic powers, but as of now, I am unable to do perform any kind of useful biotic skill."

Rodriguez and Nielsen just stood there with their mouths open. Again, Charles started to feel really bad about his biotics. Like Prangley, the two others were extremely surprised to hear about his lack of skill. Apparently, Dr. Sanders was the only person on the entire station with any kind of confidence in him, he sure didn't believe much in himself after seeing the reactions from the other biotic students.

"Well, I'm sure that you will catch on very soon. You know, we are all new to advanced class. We haven't been taught much about combat biotics in basics, so maybe we can learn together." Vera Rodriguez said in a comforting voice, again elbowing Kurt causing him to close his mouth.

"Yeah buddy," Kurt said, "just let us know if you need some help. We'll be happy to assist you with the basic stuff. Rodriguez here makes a mean barrier, and as soon as you are able to control your powers, she'll probably be able to teach you a thing or two. At least then you'll be able to defend yourself."

Vera's cheeks blushed bright pink, and she broke out into a soft girlish laughter.

"You shouldn't give him unrealistic expectations, Kurt." She turned to face Charles. "My barrier is really not that strong."

"C'mon Girl, don't sell yourself short. Your barrier is even stronger than Prangley's, not to mention stronger than the basics instructor's." Kurt exclaimed, earning a shy smile from Vera.

"Well mate, we have to go meet one of our instructors from basics. We have agreed to help some of the new kids, kind of like tutoring them." Kurt continued. "But we'll see you later. Have a nice day, and don't pay too much attention to anything Prangley says, he doesn't think about anyone but himself."

Charles bid them farewell and laid down on his bed.

Maybe this wouldn't be as bad as he feared. At least Rodriguez and Nielsen seemed nice enough. He had never had many friends, but he felt that he might be able to develop a friendship with the two other students. Jason Prangley, not so much.

Friends or not, he sure hoped that his biotics would soon manifest themselves. What use would friends be if he was moved to basics to study with a bunch of twelve year-olds, or sent back to earth for not showing any signs of improvement?

His head filled with thoughts and new impressions and still tired from his travels, Charles soon drifted off to sleep though it wasn't even noon yet.


	6. First Encounter

Chapter Six - First Encounter

It was the morning of his first class, and Charles Magnus was equally excited and terrified. His palms were very sweaty as they approached Ascension Hall. Kurt Nielsen and Vera Rodriguez had been kind enough to accompany him to breakfast in Orion Hall, and they were now all heading to their first class as advanced level students.

Vera and Kurt also seemed to be quite nervous, but Charles thought to himself, that at least they were both practiced biotics. All three of them looked forward to meeting their new instructor.

Dr. Sanders had talked to them the night before, claiming that she had found a qualified instructor for their class, and that she thought the students would appreciate this person's unique personality. Rodriguez, who had grown very fond of one of their basics class instructors, Mr. Yates, was especially curious as to how their new teacher would measure up.

Charles just hoped that this person wouldn't throw him off the station for being a useless waste of time.

"Is it always this cold here?" Charles asked, as he felt slight chills down his back.

"Pretty much." Kurt answered. "We're in space, you know. Management don't want to use too many resources on heating the entire station."

"Explains why Prangley goes to the gym so often, huh?" Charles said, remembering how he first met his obnoxious but chiseled class mate in sweaty workout clothes.

"Hah, that's probably not the main reason though." Kurt explained. "Prangley is really into combat biotics, and though he may seem like a bit of an ass, he is actually very skilled."

Vera nodded in agreement, and Kurt continued.

"He definitely has military aspirations. I think he mentally signed up for The Alliance Marines when he was five years old, but when his biotic talent was discovered, he decided that this project might make him a more powerful soldier."

Vera had stopped in the middle of the hallway, and the two boys looked back at her.

"Mmmhh... Alliance Marines." She purred, a dreamy look in her eyes.

Charles laughed and Kurt smilingly shook his head.

"Ensign Rodriguez! You better stop drooling, or this hallway will get awfully slippery." Her blond friend scolded, perfectly imitating Kahlee Sanders' voice, causing Charles to laugh even harder.

Kurt smiled at Charles, softly shaking his head at Vera's behaviour.

"One thing you need to know about Miss Rodriguez here, Charles. She has a thing for men in Alliance uniform. In fact she is a bit of a fanatic. That's probably why she likes our good friend Prangley so much."

That last comment seemed to snap Vera from her dream state, and she growled at Kurt.

"I DO NOT LIKE JASON PRANGLEY!" she screamed, causing some of the other students in the busy hall to stare.

"Alright alright, no need to get your knickers in a twist babe, I was only joking." Kurt laughed, stroking her shoulder blades in a comforting manner.

Charles smiled as they continued their walk to Ascension Hall. His new friends had managed to take some of the pressure off his mind with their hallway antics.

-X-X-X-

Jack contemplated if it was too late to run away, as she paced back and forth in her office. What had she been thinking accepting this position, she wasn't fit to be a teacher.

30 minutes until she had to be in Ascension Hall for her first class as instructor.

It was now or never, she thought, if she was going to steal a shuttle and escape the station, now would be the time.

20 minutes...

Last chance. Sure, Sanders would be disappointed, but it wasn't like she hadn't screwed people over before.

10 minutes...

_Fuck! I can't believe I am actually doing this._

There was a sharp noise, which Jack recognized as the sound of a doorbell. Kahlee Sanders had arrived to escort her to her first lesson and to introduce her as a new instructor, and Jack knew that it was too late to back down now.

She followed the head director to Ascension Hall, not speaking a word on the entire walk. Her mouth was dry, and her knees were shaking. Mercenaries, charging krogans and Cerberus she could confront without a second's hesitation, but a bunch of teens in a classroom made her lose the plot.

_What the hell is wrong with me!?_

The two women passed through the door to Ascension Hall, which was empty. They walked almost all the way to the end of the hallway, which was relatively short. Sanders stopped in front of the door to the advanced classroom, turning to face Jack, who was trying her best not to reveal how she felt.

"Nervous?" Sanders asked, obviously reading her newest employee like an open book.

Jack shrugged, too nervous to lie and play tough.

"Don't be." Sanders said in a soothing voice. "They don't bite, they just really want to learn."

And with those words, she opened the door, and they stepped into the classroom where six pairs of exited eyes immediately shot in their direction, eager to get a glimpse of their new instructor.

-X-X-X-

Charles followed Kurt and Vera into their classroom, which was quite small, but much more modern than the classrooms he was used to in his village school back on earth. In his old school the teachers were still using whiteboards and markers, but this classroom had a giant datapad hanging on the wall, which could be controlled by omni-tools.

There were six desks placed in two rows of three. With the back row already taken by Jason Prangley and two other students, Charles, Vera and Kurt had to settle for the front row. Charles took place at the desk directly in front of Prangley, earning a fist bump from his obviously excited classmate.

Charles caught Vera's eye for a moment, and they shared nervous looks. She, obviously, anticipated the presentation of the new instructor with great anxiety. Charles, whose palms were still very sweaty in spite of the cold temperatures on the station, didn't really care much about the new instructor. He was much more worried about his own lack of biotic skill, which was bound to be displayed soon.

Behind him, he could hear that Prangley was talking to the young man at the desk next to him about his latest achievements in the gym. The other guy, whose name Charles didn't know, whistled in exaggerated admiration of Prangley's anecdote. Charles knew that he was just humoring him, but Prangley didn't seem to pick up on this, and he repeated the story for the girl who was also sat on the back row.

Before Prangley could finish his bragging, the door to the class room was opened and Kahlee Sanders stepped in followed by a unconventional looking lady, who Charles concluded must have been their instructor.

Dr. Sanders was dressed in her Alliance uniform, as she had been every time Charles had seen her, and he had expected their instructor to also bear the blue colors of the Alliance. But looking at the woman who had followed the Ascension Project Head Director into the classroom, he could not have been more wrong.

She was wearing black combat boots and grey camouflage pants, which seemed to be the least unusual part of her attire. Her entire upper body was almost bare, except for her breasts which were covered by some skimpy bits of white cloth. On top of that she was wearing a black leather jacket riddled with sharp looking metal studs.

Her uniform, however, wasn't the most spectacular part of the woman's appearance.

Almost every bit of skin that Charles could see, which was quite a lot for a teachers outfit, was covered in tattoos in every shape, form and color. Her face was very pretty and completely free of tattoos, but the shaven sides of her head revealed a band of strange script that went from her temples to the back of her head where it was covered by a dark brown ponytail.

She looked either uncomfortable or outright unhappy to be the center of the six students' undivided attention. Her dark eyes were mostly pointing down towards her feet, but from time to time they would shoot up to scan the faces of Charles and his fellow students.

"Good morning friends." Sanders greeted in a cheery voice, obviously excited by the situation.

There were scattered replies from all six students, all of them too busy assessing the look of their new instructor to properly greet their director.

"Today you will begin your time in advanced class, and as you know, I am presenting you with a new instructor." Sanders continued, completely unaffected.

"But first, to those of you who haven't introduced yourself. This young man..." she pointed to Charles, whose face turned beet red "...Charles Magnus is our new student, and I trust that you will all do your best to make him feel welcome here at Grissom Academy."

She looked at Charles.

"I believe you are familiar with Ensign Rodriguez and Ensign Nielsen?"

he nodded, smiling thankfully to the two other students by his side.

"Good. Behind you is Ensign Jason Prangley, if you don't know about him yet, I am sure you will in the near future."

"Oh he knows!" Prangley laughed, slapping Charles amicably on the shoulder.

"Splendid. The last two students..." Sanders pointed to the boy and girl on the back row whose names were unknown to Charles. "...are the Bellarmine twins. Reiley and Seanne."

They both waved at Charles, as Dr. Sanders continued.

"And now, without further ado, let me present your instructor for advanced class, Miss Jacqueline Nought."

Their new instructor took a step forward, and quickly waved at the class.

"Thank you Lieutenant Sanders." she looked at the six students, who all stared back at her. "I would prefer that you call me Jack."

_Jack?_

Charles wasn't aware that women could be called Jack, but after seeing her appearance he probably should have expected other things about her to be unusual.

Jack pushed a strand of dark hair, that had fallen into her face, behind her left ear in a way that Charles found strangely attractive, and spoke again.

"So, I thought that we should start off with some Q and A. You can ask me any questions you'd like, and I will answer as honestly as I can. The lieutenant should probably stay if any of you have any questions about the project itself."

Kahlee Sanders nodded and took a seat in the corner.

"Good. Any questions" Jack asked, smiling as a few hands shot into the air.

"Yeah, you, Reiley Bellarmine was it?"

"Yes ma'am." Reiley confirmed. "I was wondering, what is your background?"

To Charles this seemed like a very normal question, and one that he would have expected to come up during the Q and A session, but Jack seemed a bit flustered.

Their new instructor looked at Dr. Sanders as if she was seeking permission to answer. The lieutenant nodded, allowing Jack to answer.

"Well, I grew up on the planet Pragia in a facility called Teltin run by Cerberus. They used the Teltin Facility to test narcotic effects on biotic children. Many children died there, either due to drug testing or the fights they staged between us subjects."

There was complete silence in the room, the only ones not looking utterly shocked were Dr. Sanders and Jack herself.

Children were killed? By Cerberus? Charles had heard some pretty dark things about the organization, but he had a hard time believing that they would be allowed to drug children to death in a facility on a distant planet.

"On a happier note." Jack continued. "I was a part of Commander Shepard's team that stopped the collector abductions just a few months ago."

"You worked with Commander Shepard?" Pranley screamed in disbelief.

"Sure did." Jack said, smiling as she noticed the impact this information had on the students.

"Awesome." Kurt said. "But wasn't that a Cerberus operation?"

"It was paid for by Cerberus, who spent an insane amount of credits bringing Shepard back from death. I worked for Shepard, not Cerberus. Sadly, cooperation was a necessary evil at the time, because Cerberus were the only ones reacting to the abductions." Jack explained.

"Okay, but if I may, how did you go from being the test subject of Cerberus to saving the galaxy. What happened in between?" Kurt asked, and the other students nodded, all wondering the same thing.

"Nielsen, right?"

Kurt smiled and nodded.

"Well, let's just say that I was involved with some people of questionable character, and that I may have committed some deeds in that period that I probably shouldn't tell you about." Jack said, rubbing her neck guiltily. "But I can tell you that Commander Shepard actually recruited me, while I was in turian prison."

Again, complete silence.

Eventually, Dr. Sanders rose from her chair.

"Alright kids, listen up, I know that Jack has an unusual background, but I can assure you, that she is more than qualified. Her role in saving humanity from the collectors makes her a hero in my books, and I think that she deserves our respect and a second chance."

The students all nodded in agreement, and Charles thought he saw Jack make a sigh of relief before she spoke again.

"Thank you, I appreciate it. Now, are there any more questions?"

"How was it working with Commander Shepard?" Prangley asked.

"At first I was very uncomfortable with all the Cerberus staff running around, but I just kept to myself most of the time. Shepard himself is a boy scout like no-one else, but he gets things done, and he has a fire within him that will make you want to follow him into hell." Jack explained.

"Not to mention he's sexy as hell." Vera added with a sleazy grin.

"Yeah, he's one good looking boyscout." Jack laughed, as Prangley and Kurt exchanged knowing looks and shook their heads.

"I heard that Shepard's team had members from alien races as well. How was it like to work with them?" Reiley Bellarmine asked to change the subject.

"That's true. I am used to being around all sorts of aliens, but Shepard had collected them all on The Normandy. There was a quarian, a turian, an asari, a salarian, a drell, a krogan and even a geth. The aliens were not much of a problem, it was the Cerberus people you had to keep an eye on. Fuckers." Jack finished.

Prangley snorted loudly, unable to hide his amusement at a teacher using that kind of language.

Sanders cleared her throat in the corner, but her smile wasn't reduced.

"Oh yeah, sorry." Jack said, smiling apologetically.

"I see that you have customized your uniform, it looks cool. Are we allowed to alter ours?" Vera asked.

Jack shrugged and turned to Dr. Sanders who was shaking her head.

"Sorry Rodriguez, but the rules explicitly state that students are not allowed to modify their uniforms."

"No fair" Vera moaned and crossed her arms under her breasts.

"Too bad Rodriguez" Prangley said dryly. "But back to more important issues. Ma'am, will you focus on offensive or defensive techniques when teaching us combat biotics?"

"Personally, I find that I am a very aggressive fighter, and I usually take out my enemies without ever having to put up extra barriers."

"SWEET! That's what I like to hear!" Prangley cheered, crunching his fist in excitement.

"However..." Jack interrupted. "I am aware that we all have different styles, and I will demand that you practice the full spectrum. You can't always rely on being able to take out your opponents without having to biotically protect yourself. When we attacked the collector base, I was holding up a barrier to protect us from the seeker swarms. It was one of the most exhausting things I have ever done."

"Your barrier protected the entire team?" Vera said, obviously in deep admiration of their new instructor's feat.

Jack nodded.

Charles had no idea what it required to make a biotic barrier, or how much harder it was to protect an entire team than just yourself, But from Vera the awe in Vera's voice, he could understand that it wasn't something any of them were likely to be doing anytime soon. Him least of all, he couldn't even protect himself.

"If there are no further questions, I would like to put you through a little test." Jack said. "I know it sucks, test on the first day, but I need to be aware of how much you know in order to plan for the future classes."

"Sweet!" Prangley shouted, eager to show off his skills to their new teacher. "Shall we hit the gym?"

"Chill big guy!" Jack said, earning some appreciative smiles from most of the other students. "This will just be a theoretical test."

Prangley sank back into his chair with a hint of a frown on his face, but just seconds later he was wearing his usual cocky smile.

"The tests are on the datapads in front of you. You have forty-five minutes." Jack explained, before she and Sanders left the room.

Charles tapped the datapad to open the test. Considering the fact that he was completely unable to apply his supposed biotic talent to anything useful, he was grateful that their test was purely theoretical, but even so, he had only just very recently begun reading about the theory of biotics.

First question:

_What are the three general categories of biotic abilities?_

Charles actually knew the answer to this one, but only because he had read about it just yesterday. He put down his answer. Telekinesis, kinetic fields and spatial distortion.

After this followed a long list of questions that Charles had no way of knowing the answers to. Half the questions he didn't even understand. It was twenty-five minutes into the test and his classmates had all put down their datapads, obviously satisfied with their answers. Charles realized that it didn't matter how long he stared at the datapad, he wouldn't be able to answer any more questions.

He tapped the submit-button, which apparently signaled Jack and Sanders, because seconds later they stepped back into the room.

"Great. I think that will be all for today guys. I'll see you tomorrow."

Charles felt like shit.

He had only answered very few of the questions, and he wasn't even sure that he had gotten them right.

He quickly packed his belongings and rushed out the door, trying to avoid talking to any of the other students.

How was he ever going to be a part of this class, when he was six years of biotic education behind his fellow students?


	7. Speak Up

Chapter Seven - Speak Up

Charles pushed his way through a group of students from basics as he tried to get as far away from the classroom as he could. His eyes were tearing up from disappointment, but also anger. He was infuriated with Kahlee Sanders for letting him humiliate himself like this.

How could she possibly think, that he would be successful in advanced class, when he wasn't even able to answer ten percent of the questions, that Jack had asked in their test?

Was she just messing with him?

His dark thoughts were interrupted by Kurt and Vera who came running after him down the Ascension Hallway. He quickly wiped his eyes before they got close enough to see that he had been close to tears.

"Hey buddy, where are you off to in such a hurry?" Kurt asked, smiling as they caught him.

"Is something wrong?" Vera asked softly, noticing his red eyes.

"I.. I don't think I belong here." Charles said in a shaky voice. "I can't controlled my alleged biotic powers, and I was unable to answer almost all of the questions in the test."

"Don't worry about it." Vera said, placing a comforting hand on his arm. "You've had very little time to get used to all of this, but your biotic abilities will develop very soon, I am sure."

"Yeah mate." Kurt added. "And we will help you with the theory, if you want us to. You haven't had the time to read all of the theoretic material yet, and to be honest, the theory is actually not that complicated once you've got it."

"Thank you, but what do i do until I get it? And until my biotic powers develop? I probably won't be able to participate in most of the things we will be taught." Charles said, still not convinced that he belonged in the same classroom as the five others.

"I'm sure that Jack, what a crazy name by the way, will understand your situation." Vera said.

"Exactly." Kurt contributed, "when we were in basics, we didn't all develop at the same time, and we've never been obligated beyond our individual abilities."

"Come on, let's get out of here. You should come see where we live." Vera said, pulling Charles by the wrist.

Charles followed willingly. He was still very nervous about how Jack would react to his poor test results, but he realized that there was no return for him. He had committed to this project, and he wouldn't back out now.

As the three of them exited Ascension Hall, they turned in the opposite direction of what they would have, if they were going to Charles' room.

Again, Charles noticed how all other students seemed to get out of their way, as they walked down the hallways.

As if he knew what he was thinking, Kurt explained.

"You notice how everybody looks at you differently in that uniform? It's not fear, not really. They just respect us, and most of them are probably too shy to talk to you. So, If you want to speak to one of them, don't wait for them to open the conversation."

"Dr. Sanders has warned us about being cocky about it. She doesn't want us to see everybody else as inferior, and we try our best to break down the barriers." Vera explained, as she smiled and waved to a bunch of girls in lab coats. They all smiled nervously and huddled closer together.

"Of course, Prangley is being a bit of a dick. He really enjoys the way that the other students react to this uniform, and he often uses it to boost his own ego." Kurt said. "Uses it to pick up girls as well. Some of the ladies on this station are REALLY curious about men with biotic abilities."

"Is that so?" Charles asked mischievously.

"Oh yeah" Kurt nodded.

"Do tell" Vera said dryly.

"Well, maybe they think the ability to manipulate gravity might come in handy in the bedroom." Kurt said in a sultry tone.

"You're such a pig" Vera hissed, but couldn't help but laugh as she noticed how sleazily Kurt and Charles were looking at each other.

"You know, there might be other reasons girls like Prangley." she added.

"Such as?" Kurt asked.

"His charming personality?" Charles giggled.

"No, but he does have some physical traits, that some women find attractive." Vera answered patiently.

"Some women, huh?" Kurt snickered, completely unable to maintain a straight face.

"Oh, shut it!" Vera laughed and punched him in the chest.

The hallway ahead of them divided into two, and Kurt pointed to the right.

"The twins live down that way, should you ever need to find them."

They walked in the opposite direction for a while before arriving at a door with Kurt's name on it.

_Kurt Nielsen,_

_Ascension Project (Advanced)_

Kurt pulled his ID card from a pocket in his uniform and swiped it. The door retracted into the ceiling with a swooshing sound and allowed them access to Kurt's room.

The room was identical to Charles', but the walls were covered with posters and pictures, and it was quite messy.

"Nice to see you've cleaned up for your guests" Vera said sarcastically.

"It's not like I planned this visit." Kurt retorted.

"It's just fine" Charles said diplomatically, as he wandered around the room looking at Kurt's posters.

He stopped in front of a calendar with pictures of semi-naked blue women with tentacles for hair.

"Asari, right?" He asked, pointing to the calendar.

"Yes, lovely creatures indeed." Kurt smirked.

"hmmm... I've never met any aliens, but I sure wouldn't mind running into a few of these." Charles hummed.

"Men..." Rodriguez sighed, "you really do have an unhealthy obsession with those asari."

"What? You mean like you and Alliance Marines? Besides, it's an all female race. What's not to love?" Kurt said smilingly.

Eventually, Charles managed to free himself from the calendar, and a poster of a football team caught his eye.

"You like football?" He asked, gesturing to the poster.

"Yeah. That is the local team from our colony back on Terra Nova." Kurt explained.

"Your colony?" Charles lifted an eyebrow. "You guys come from the same colony?"

"Yes." Vera nodded.

"We never talked to each other, before we found out, that we were both going to Grissom Academy. Since then we've just never left each other alone." Kurt said, putting his arm around Vera's shoulders.

"Oh, so you two are... dating?" Charles said, feeling a bit uncomfortable.

"No no no" Vera said, waving her hands dismissively. "We are close friends, more like brother and sister actually. Nielsen here is actually in a long distance relationship with one of my friends back on Terra Nova."

"But..." Kurt interrupted, "...Rodriguez here is single, if you want to get some action."

Vera turned pink and she elbowed her friend straight in the ribs.

"I'm sure Charles has a girlfriend at home." she said.

Charles shook his head.

"No? I can't believe that. So tall and handsome... And those amazing blue eyes of yours." She purred, making Charles' face redder than his uniform.

"Ooh, watch out Magnus, you're in her sights." Kurt was now laughed so hard, that he was clinging to the doorframe for support.

"Shut up." Vera screamed. "Don't be an asshole! But I mean, look at those eyes. The girls in his village must have been blind not to notice those eyes."

"Yeah, they're precious!" Nielsen screamed with laughter, now curled up on the floor grabbing his stomach.

"Well, I guess I am just way too shy to talk with girls." Charles said, shrugging his shoulders.

"You've been talking to me." Vera interjected.

"True." Charles nodded. "But I thought that the two of you were together, so that kind of took the pressure off."

"Are you planning a career in The Alliance military after school?" Kurt inquired, as he regained self control and rose from the floor.

"Maybe." Charles said. "Let's see if I am any good first, shall we?"

"Yeah." Kurt said, pretending to be thinking hard. "You probably won't have a shot with Vera here unless you become a soldier. She is very picky like that."

Vera nodded.

"For once you are actually telling the truth. I love me some Alliance Marines."

All three of them laughed.

A few minutes later Vera was leading them down the hallway to her own room.

_Vera Rodriguez,_

_Ascension Project (Advanced)_

As they entered, Charles immediately noticed how much tidier than Kurt's her room was.

The walls were covered by posters of heroic looking alliance soldiers, which made Charles laugh.

"See, I told you so. She's obsessed. At least I only have one asari calendar in my room." Kurt said as he entered the room.

"That's different." Vera complained. "Your asari sluts are naked. My guys are all in uniform."

Kurt demonstratively took two long steps, stopping in front of a poster of a muscular shirtless man with an N7 tattoo on his chest.

"So you're telling me that this bad boy..." he pointed to the poster, "...would be allowed to go into battle like this?"

Charles snickered and Vera couldn't help but smile as well.

As he scanned the rest of the posters, he saw at least five portraying Commander Shepard. He stopped in front of a poster, that honored the commander for becoming the first human spectre.

"Ah yes, Shepard, her favorite. She even has a Commander Shepard VI that talks dirty to her." Kurt stage whispered, intending for Vera to hear what he was saying.

"It does not talk dirty. It just gives me random compliments, and lets me know if I have any messages." Vera explained.

"Random compliments?" Kurt grinned. "Like this? I'm Commander Shepard, and yours is my favorite ass in the galaxy." he said in a coarse voice.

Vera was just about to yell, but she gave up and surrendered to laughter along with Charles and Kurt.

"You guys up for lunch?" Kurt asked, when they were all done laughing. "I'm hungry like a krogan."

Charles felt his stomach complain and realized, that he was quite hungry himself. Like a krogan? Probably not, but still, he could eat.

Orion Hall was teeming with life, and after picking up their rations, it seemed impossible for them to find a place to sit.

"Maybe we should play the Ascension card, get some of these science geeks to give us their table." Kurt joked, earning a stern look from Vera.

"There's Prangley and the twins, let's go sit with them." she said, pointing to the recognizable figure of Jason Prangley in the distance.

"Hi there, have a seat" Prangley greeted as they neared the table.

They sat down and started to eat their lunch.

"What did you think of the test?" Seanne Bellarmine asked.

"I thought it was good, some of it was very basic, but a couple of the question were pretty tough, so it will probably give her a good idea of where we stand." Vera said thoughtfully.

"It was too easy." Prangley said. "I wish it would have been a practical test."

"Speak for yourself Prangley." Kurt said. "I thought it was challenging enough, and I am sure that we will be putting our skills to use soon enough. Our new instructor doesn't seem like the bookish sort, does she?"

"Speaking of our new instructor, what do y'all think about her?" Prangley asked, before taking a huge bite out of a protein bar.

"She's so weird." Seanne said, looking over her shoulder, as to make sure that Jack wasn't standing right behind her. "And I must say, that I am a little worried that she's a criminal."

"I understand." her brother Reiley said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "But we can't forget that she used to work with Commander Shepard. She can't be all bad."

"She seems so young too. I don't think she's that much older than us." Vera added. "My best guess would be that she is in her mid-twenties."

The others nodded in agreement to her assessment of Jack's age.

"Hello!? Aren't we forgetting something important here?" Prangley interrupted.

"What?" Kurt asked.

"She shows up in a uniform that is showing more skin than an asari dancer's, she's covered in tattoos, her head is shaven in the sides and she was trained at a place crazier than BAaT. She is overall freaky, and all you can talk about is her age."

"Don't forget that I swore in front of the head director." Jack said calmly, as she stepped up to the table, causing all six students to jump in their seats. "Anything else we need to hear, Prangley?"

"No, Ma'am." Prangley said, staring at his half finished lunch.

Jack turned to face Charles.

"Magnus right?"

He nodded.

"Please come with me, I would like to discuss your test results."

Charles sighed. He had known that she would want to discuss his crappy test at some point, but he hadn't thought that it would be on the same day.

He quickly finished the rest of his lunch as Jack addressed the other students.

"The rest of you. It seems that basics wasn't a complete waste of time. Your test results are acceptable, and I feel that I have something to work with."

She turned to face Vera.

"Rodriguez, I should probably congratulate you on your perfect test score. Kudos. Prangley, you were one point short of the same score."

Kurt patted Vera's back and Prangley looked even more satisfied with himself than usually.

Having finished his meal, Charles got to his feet and followed Jack towards her office.

As they left the table, he heard Prangley's voice from behind his back.

"You know, the poor guy probably didn't even get a single answer right. Maybe he shouldn't be here."

Charles' chin sank to rest on his chest and he sped up to get away from the table faster, but Jack had frozen in place at the words coming from Prangley.

She marched back to the table, her boots aggressively squealing against the floor as she came to a halt.

"Prangley, you should probably change your uniform, you seem to have spilled something." she said, her voice cold as ice.

"Where?" Prangley asked, searching the upper part of his uniform for stains.

Jack flicked her wrist faster than any of the students had thought possible, there was a blue flash of light, and Prangley's lunch tray catapulted the remainder of his food into his face and all over his uniform.

"There!" Jack said calmly before turning on her heel and walking out of Orion Hall with Charles in her heels, leaving Kurt, Vera, Seanne and Reiley in roaring laughter, as Prangley tried to clean himself up.

Charles was thankful, that Jack had put Prangley in his place, but he was worried about how he would react to this. He didn't want Prangley to start calling him teacher's pet or anything like that. Remembering what he was supposed to talk about when they reached Jack's office quickly shifted his thoughts back to his poor test results.

Arriving at Ascension Hall, Jack swiped her card, and Charles followed her down the corridor until they stood in front of her office.

_Ascension Project - Advanced Class_

_Instructor Jacqueline Nought_

Jack walked in and took place in a chair behind her desk, she gestured for Charles to take a seat in a chair on the other side of her desk.

"I understand that you have no other classes today?" Jack asked.

Charles nodded. They were free to do what they wished for the rest of the day.

"Beer?" she asked.

Charles didn't know what to say. Sanders hadn't specified any drinking rules, but it did seem a bit strange to him. He decided that he probably wouldn't get in trouble for accepting a beer from their instructor. Also, he felt like he could really use one.

"Sure. Thank you." he said.

Jack got up from her chair, disappeared briefly into her personal quarters and returned with two cans of beer.

"Ever had asari beer, Magnus?" she asked, as she handed him the can.

Charles looked at the unusual markings on the can in his hand and shook his head.

"It's pretty good, a bit stronger than most human beer, but it tastes like fucking fruit juice." Jack said, leaning back in her chair and flinging her booted feet onto the desk.

She opened her can and took a large sip, closing her eyes as she enjoyed the feel of the fizzy drink in her mouth.

Charles opened and took a hesitant sip of his beer. It's taste was very unfamiliar, like nothing he had ever tasted at all, but in no way uncomfortable.

"It's good." he said, taking another sip.

"Told you so." Jack said and picked up a datapad from her desk.

"You know why you are here?" she asked, dragging her finger across the datapad in a sweeping motion.

Charles knew, but he still wasn't sure what to say. He opted for the truth.

"Yes. M-My test score is really bad." Charles stuttered and took a large sip of his beer to calm his raging nerves.

"Well, let's be honest." Jack said, still looking at his results on her datapad. "Your score is significantly lower than everybody else's."

Charles heart sank. He already knew this to be true, but it still hurt to hear it said so directly.

"Which made me think..." Jack continued,"...That something was horribly wrong. So, I went to talk to Sanders, and she told me about how you just had your amps implanted a few months ago."

Charles nodded.

"And you have only been reading the theory for a couple of months as well?"

Charles nodded again.

"Then there's no reason for me to expect you to know the answer to any of these questions." Jack said, throwing the datapad back onto her desk.

Charles let out a sigh of relief and took another sip of his beer.

"When Sanders presented you as the new guy, I didn't know that you were actually a NEW guy in that sense." Jack joked, finished her beer and placed the empty can on the desk.

"Ma'am, you should probably know..." Charles muttered, "...That my powers haven't developed yet."

"I would be surprised if they had." Jack replied quickly. "It won't be a problem, just promise me that you will concentrate really hard on the boring theory stuff until they do."

Charles nodded. He was already sleeping too little, because most of his nights were spent studying the theory behind biotic abilities, but he was determined to learn it all, and Jack's words had only increased his determination.

"Good, and you let me know if that Prangley kid rubs you the wrong way, and I'll rip his fucking head off." Jack growled and her hands started glowing in a light blue color.

Not wanting to escalate the situation, Charles waived his hand dismissively.

"That won't be necessary. He's not that bad."

"If you say so." Jack shrugged and sent her empty beer can flying across the room with a slight hand movement. The beer can slammed into the wall and dumped into a trash can on the floor.

"Will that be all?" Charles asked.

Jack nodded.

"Thanks for the beer, Ma'am." he said as he rose to his feet, walked to the trash can and threw out his empty can.

"Hey Magnus." Jack said from behind her desk. "Don't worry about your biotic abilities. Everything will be cool, and I will personally assist you in reaching your true potential."

"T-thanks."

"And hey, you're a nice guy. You should speak up a little, don't be so shy. As I said, everything will be fine, and you have nothing to be ashamed of." Jack said with a smile. "Now get the hell out of here, I'm about to get hammered."

Charles smiled and left Jack's office with a spring in his step.

"Damn it, I'm getting good at this teaching stuff!" Jack said to herself, as she rose from her chair to get another beer.


	8. Wolff

Chapter Eight - Wolff

Charles walked down the corridor, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Around him, he noticed that many of the other students, like him, looked very sleepy. Most of them, including Charles, were headed to Orion Hall for breakfast. Hundreds of students dragged their feet, as they moved down the hallway towards the giant hall, while more and more students joined them from the doors along the corridor.

As he entered Orion Hall, he immediately picked up some breakfast, and as he was unable to find any of his classmates, he decided to bring his food with him to Ascension Hall.

Apparently, most of his classmates had done the same thing. Everybody was already in the classroom when he arrived except for the Bellarmine twins. Even Jack was sitting on her desk, taking violently large bite out of an apple.

"Goob 'orning," she said, her mouth jam-packed with apple.

"Good morning, Ma'am," Charles replied and took a seat at the desk directly in front of hers.

He greeted Kurt, Vera and Prangley and started to unwrap his breakfast sandwich.

They all just sat there and ate in silence for a few minutes until the twins arrived.

When everybody had finished their meals, Jack got up from her desk and closed the door.

"I think we need to have a little meeting," she said seriously.

Charles looked around him, but the other students looked as puzzled as he was sure he looked.

"To optimize your education, I think it is important for me to know what your goals and expectations are," Jack explained.

"If none of you want to pursue a military career, there's really no reason for me to teach you a whole bunch of combat biotics, then I could just focus on something else," She continued. "So, let's hear it, what are your plans for the future?"

Prangley went first.

"I've wanted to be a soldier since forever, so I would be really disappointed if combat biotics wasn't given priority."

"Us too," the twins added in unison.

"Nielsen?" Jack asked, turning to face the blond, young man.

"I don't know. I really haven't decided yet. But I would like to learn combat biotics regardless," he said with a smile.

"I want to join the Alliance military as well," Vera said, as Jack questioned her.

"Guess why," Kurt muttered, concealed between the fakest coughs that Charles had ever heard.

Unable to stop smiling from Kurts remark, he explained to Jack that he, like Kurt, wasn't sure about what he wanted to do later in his life, but that he too would like to learn combat biotics. Just in case.

"Alright," Jack said, "I must admit, that this was what I was hoping you would say."

"Why is that?" Seanne asked.

"It's what I do best. I find that my biotics are more effective when I am pissed off, and that is just not a good thing to be outside of battle situations," Jack explained. "Also, I rarely apply my abilities to anything other than fighting, so I probably wouldn't be the best person to teach those uses."

The students nodded, none of them able to imagine Jack using her abilities in civilian work.

"I understand that you have had quite a bit of barrier training in basics, so I think that we should start with that," Jack said, causing Vera to smile. "I would like to see just how good you are. Let's go to the gym."

All seven of them walked to the Ascension Project's own gym. It was complete with different kinds of machines and weights and there was a lot of floor space.

Jack opened a locker and drew out a large box, which she placed on the floor in the middle of the room.

The students formed a half circle around her and awaited her orders.

"To test your barriers, I would like one of you to stand here in the middle, while the rest of us try to nail you with these..." She bent down and pulled two tennis ball sized spheres from the box at her feet. "Your job, when you're in the middle, is to try and block them. Understood?"

"Yes Ma'am!" the students answered in unison.

"Good. Nielsen, you're up first."

Kurt did a few stretches and readied himself, as Jack gave the rest of them six spheres each and placed them in a large circle around him.

"Before we start, let me just make one thing clear..." Jack shouted, "...If I see one of you pulling your punches, you'll be next in the middle. With blindfolds on."

The students silently agreed.

"I don't want to see any sissy throws!" Jack continued. "You wanted combat training, and that's what I will give you!"

They nodded and readied themselves.

"Ready Nielsen?" Jack asked, preparing her own handful of spheres to throw at the awaiting student.

He nodded, his face frozen in deep concentration.

"Ready, set, GO!" Jack said, and all six of them started to pelt him with spheres.

Charles caught a glimpse of Kurt waiving his hands, before he disappeared behind a blue veil.

No matter how hard he threw his spheres at the blue bubble containing his friend, he was unable to penetrate it.

When all of them had used up their spheres, Kurt dropped his barrier and sank to one knee.

"Tired already?" Prangley laughed scornfully.

Kurt shook his head, gritting his teeth in pain.

"A few spheres got through.", he pointed to Vera. "Rodriguez nailed me in the daddy bag. Twice."

They all laughed, except for Jack.

"The pain will make you stronger!" She said coldly. "Good shot Rodriguez, you can go next."

Vera took place in the center of the room, and Kurt slowly limped out to take her place in the circle.

When they all had six spheres again, they repeated the same exercise with Vera in the middle.

Once again, none of Charles's spheres seemed to penetrate the barrier, but maybe one of the others had managed to get one through.

As Vera emerged from her bubble of protection, she was smiling from ear to ear, obviously totally unharmed.

Jack nodded, clearly impressed, but said nothing.

Prangley and the twins all managed to go through the exercise without taking more than a few hits. Seanne had taken a hit to the chest from prangley, but as a true gentleman he offered to massage the pain away, which did nothing but earn him a look of disgust from both Seanne and her brother.

When the rest of them had stopped laughing, Jack asked them to start putting the spheres back in the box.

"Ma'am, mind if I try?" Charles asked quietly, a little unsatisfied with not even being asked if he wanted to.

"If you're sure you want to," Jack shrugged.

" I am. How else will I learn?" he answered and took place in the middle.

He was feeling very nervous, but he had read all the theory there was about barriers, so it was time to start practicing.

As soon as Jack threw the first sphere, he held out his hands and concentrated hard, like he had read you should do, but nothing happened.

He watched in panic as Jack's sphere approached his face, but he managed to crouch in the very last second, before feeling something hard slam into the back of his head and everything went dark.

"Magnus!" someone called, but everything was pitch black.

"Charles Magnus, can you hear me?" a familiar voice shouted, as he slowly opened his eyes seeing only blurred out colors.

"What happened?" he mumbled.

"Miss Bellarmine got you in the back of the head. You were bleeding a bit, but we've slapped some medi-gel on it," the voice said.

"Oh, right," Charles groaned, as he started to regain proper eyesight. "The spheres."

He was lying on the floor, and Jack was crouched over him, a serious look in her eyes.

"How are you feeling?" she asked.

"Like shit." Charles groaned.

"Aren't we all," Jack said, causing Charles to laugh, but he quickly stopped as it made his head spin.

"How was my barrier?" he asked jokingly.

"Nonexistent," Kurt said dryly. "Nice reflexes though, you dodged everyone's spheres but Seanne's."

"I'm really sorry," Seanne said guiltily.

"Don't be, I asked for it," Charles said, as he rubbed the back of his head. "Besides, I don't want any special treatment."

"Let's see about that," Jack interrupted. "I'm not letting you get yourself killed, at least not until your biotics have kicked in. Until then, you will not be allowed to participate in dangerous activities."

"But..." Charles complained, but was quickly shot down by their instructor.

"No buts Magnus, you will do as I say, and right now I'm saying that we will take you by the infirmary on our way to lunch."

Charles sighed, but he wouldn't dream of going against a direct order from their instructor.

-X-X-X-

"I have been thinking..." Jack said, as they were all sat around a table for lunch in Orion Hall, "...That it might be a good idea for me to invite a biotic with Alliance military experience."

"Like a guest instructor?" Charles asked, holding a pack of ice against his sore head.

"Yes."

Jack took a bite of a protein bar.

"As you know, I've never really been involved with the military, so I haven't got a clue what it's like."

"Can it be Commander Shepard?" Vera exclaimed before she could stop herself.

"Here we go." Kurt whispered to Charles, rolling his eyes

"Shepard?" Jack asked. "Rodriguez, I'm afraid your dirty little fantasies about the commander might never come true. As far as I know, he is still in Vancouver, trying to avoid being locked up for cooperation with terrorists. If he is unsuccessful, he might never be able to leave earth again."

Vera looked like someone had punched her.

"I heard something about that, but I thought it was only rumors."

"It's true," Jack said in a gloomy voice. "But even if he was free to come here, he would probably be very busy with his boy scout duties. Not to mention the fact that he is hardly the best representative of the average military career."

"Yeah, he is anything but average," Vera purred, causing everybody else to laugh.

"You've really got it bad, Rodriguez," Jack laughed. "But there's one more reason I wouldn't invite Shepard here, even if he was able and wanted to come."

"Why's that?" Rodriguez asked curiously.

"He's not even a biotic," Jack grinned.

"And if we got him here, we would probably have a hard time explaining why Rodriguez tried to tie him up and rape him in her room," Kurt added, causing the entire table to break into hysteric laughter.

Rodriguez's face turned beet red, and she tried to change the subject.

"So, who ARE you going to invite?" she asked.

"I don't know. I may have to ask Sanders, she is much more familiar with Systems Alliance than me," Jack answered. "Now finish your lunches, there's someone that you need to meet."

-X-X-X-

Jack was leading her class down a corridor that Charles had never been in before. The walls were decorated with Alliance logos and there were a number of young men and women in Alliance uniforms going in and out of class rooms.

"This hallway is reserved for those students that might have anything to do with the Alliance military in the future," Kurt explained.

"Like us?" Charles asked.

"Yes. But also the combat engineers, and lots of other departments."

They arrived in front of a reinforced door with a big Alliance logo on it.

_Shooting Range_

Charles' mood, which had been a bit sour since the sphere-to-the-head incident, immediately lightened.

If they were going to be shooting, at least he would be on the same experience level as everybody else. Zero.

As they walked through the door, they were instantly met by loud noises from a group of students currently using the range.

When they were done shooting, the other students quickly filed out of the door.

They were all wearing uniforms similar to Charles and his classmates, but where the Ascension Project uniforms were red, these uniforms were green.

"Combat engineering," Kurt whispered as they walked past them.

A pretty, dark haired girl amicably clapped on his cheek Prangley as she passed.

"Hey Prangley! I just nailed a ninety percent score! See if you can match that!"

Prangley rubbed his cheek and smiled.

"Wait and see Sophia! Wait and see!"

When the combat engineers had left the range, an old, bald and vicious looking man in an Alliance uniform stepped forward to greet them in the roughest voice that Charles had ever heard.

"I'm Sergeant Wolff, and I will be teaching you kids how to shoot."

The students politely nodded at the old soldier.

"Some of you biotic punks probably don't think you'll ever need to fire a weapon, but I could gun all of you down right here, right now, before any of you could lift a finger you fire your hocus pocus at me," he angrily added.

The students shared confused looks. None of them knew how to deal with the ill hidden hostility towards biotics.

Luckily Jack stepped up.

"Maybe you shouldn't start off by threatening my students right in front of me," She snarled through her teeth.

Sergeant Wolff didn't even flinch.

"I've heard about you. The psychotic biotic! I can't believe they actually hired someone like you."

Jack scowled at him and her clenched fists were starting to glow. Who the fuck did he think he was?

"While they are here, they are my students, and I will decide how I teach my classes," Wolff continued.

Jack took a deep breath, causing her hands to stop glowing.

"Whatever, cranky old bastard," she whispered to her students, as she left the shooting range, "you kids let me know if he keeps this up. I'll rip his bald fucking head off!"

When Jack had exited the room and closed the door behind her, Sgt. Wolff motioned for the students to step closer.

They tentatively complied.

"Listen up!" He yelled, and held up a pistol so they all could see, "this is an M-3 Predator. Unlike the magic tricks that you kids are learning with that psycho, this might actually save your lives."

Charles could feel the rage burning inside him, and he noticed that most of the other students were clenching their fists so hard that their knuckles had turned white.

Prangley had even begun to emit a slight glow, which Sgt. Wolff noticed.

"You'd better control yourself boy, I'm just trying to improve your chances of survival."

Reiley put a hand on Prangley's shoulder to relax him, and after a few deep breaths the tall, muscular biotic stopped glowing.

"That's right," Wolff continued, "now, as I was saying, the M-3 is produced by Elanus Risk Control, it fires three hundred rounds per minute and contains twelve shots per thermal clip."

He walked up to the shooting line and fired off twelve consecutive shots, all placed closely together on the target he was aiming at.

After the twelfth shot, a thermal clip popped out of the pistol, and Sgt. Wolff shoved another one in with a practiced hand motion.

"And that's how you replace the thermal clip."

He rubbed his bald head, and crossed his arms.

"Today, we will have a little shooting competition, so I can see how much improvement there is to be made. That will be a lot," he smirked and continued, "later I will test you on our military obstacle course, as I will also be responsible for your physical training."

-X-X-X-

They had been shooting for forty five minutes, and Charles was happy to learn that he wasn't any worse at it than the others. Not surprisingly, Sgt. Wolff didn't think much of their shooting, and he was happy to let them know about it.

Every time he walked by Charles' shooting station, the old soldier would kick his feet, or slap his shoulders for not maintaining the correct posture, but he did that to all of them, so Charles didn't worry too much about it.

Seanne had scored a near perfect score in her shooting test, and even Wolff couldn't think of anything to say to her, so he just nodded approvingly and moved on the Vera's station.

"Rodriguez! You silly girl! What the hell are you doing?" Charles heard him roar from her shooting station, as she sent a shot wide of her target.

"I-I am sorry, Sir," Vera sobbed, "I-It's just that y-you make me so nervous."

"Nervous?" Wolff bellowed, "and what do you think would happen if you were surrounded by geth or those god damned turians?"

"You don't know?" Sgt. Wolff angrily continued, "I'll tell you what would have happened. You would have missed, and you would have been dead. Dead I tell you!"

Rodriguez dropped to her knees and hid her face in her hands, sobbing uncontrollably as the sergeant, whose face was becoming more and more purple, continued to yell at her.

Kurt snarled and stomped angrily towards the old soldier. Luckily, Prangley managed to force the pistol from his hand as Charles held him back, without Sgt. Wolff noticing what he had happened.

When Wolff finally stopped yelling at Vera and moved on to comment on Reiley's shooting, Seanne and Kurt quickly rushed in to console their friend. The otherwise cheerful girl's face was blank and her makeup had painted dark lines down her face.

As Kurt and Seanne helped Vera back to her feet, Charles and Prangley stared daggers at Sgt. Wolff's back.

Finally, when Reiley's shooting had been thoroughly insulted, Sgt. Wolff let them go for a two hour break before their first encounter with the obstacle course.

-X-X-X-

"What a fucking asshole!"

"I can't believe he's allowed to talk to us like that!"

"Yeah, if he hates biotics so much, why would he work here?"

There were many opinions about their newest instructor around the round table, as the students of Ascension Project's advanced class discussed their first visit to the shooting range. None of them were positive.

"We should totally tell Jack," Seanne grimly hissed, "she might actually kill him, you know."

Several of the others nodded and smiled deviously at the thought of Jack putting the mean old marine in his place, but Vera, who was reapplying her makeup with the help of a small pocket mirror, shook her head.

"No, I don't think we should do that."

"Why is that?" Kurt asked, looking perplexed.

"We need to learn how to deal with people who dislike biotics, and besides, who knows if that's how Alliance soldiers talk to their subordinates," she explained, earning impressed looks from her classmates for her ability to remain objective.

Kurt put his hand gently on her shoulder and rubbed it softly.

"Fine. I see your point. It should be up to you anyway. I can't say I wouldn't enjoy watching The Psychotic Biotic let loose on that poor bastard, but it's probably best if we don't tell."

They all laughed quietly until Prangley tapped the table with his knuckles and got up.

"Alright gang, what do you think? should we go show that old fool how to run an obstacle course."

-X-X-X-

The six students joked and laughed as they walked back towards the corridor, where they were supposed to meet with Sgt. Wolff for their first run on the military obstacle course.

Charles was feeling very light hearted, and he was happy to be able to concentrate on performing in classes where he was just as much a newcomer as his fellow students.

He also noticed, as they walked laughingly down the hallways of Grissom Academy, that their meeting with the uncomfortable Sgt. Wolff had served an important purpose. They had become closer as a group, or maybe the others had been like this for a long time, but this was the first time Charles felt like a part of the team. Even Prangley was starting to grow on him.

It was true what people said about coming together in hard times.

They met up with Sgt. Wolff outside the large double doors that led to the gym containing the obstacle course. The mood instantly dropped at the sight of the bald man in Alliance uniform, but the students kept quiet and awaited their orders.

The sergeant made a quick count to make sure that they were all there. Satisfied that there were six students in front of him, he opened the doors and let them in.

The obstacle course itself seemed very typical and contained the kind of obstacles that Charles had expected from seeing tons of action vids and recruitment material from the Alliance.

Sgt. Wolff gathered his students at the start line, and introduced the course.

"Ladies and gentlemen! This here obstacle course is made to fit Alliance Specifications! It will test your strength, endurance, balance, agility and speed as you run, crawl, climb and jump through it! To become an Alliance marine, you have to be under two minutes on this course! I expect the same from you!"

The students were given forty five minutes to warm up and familiarize themselves with the course, before Sgt. Wolff called them back to the starting line.

"Okay, listen up. You better do your best on this course, otherwise I will have to get really nasty with you to get you into shape. Remember, two minutes is the cut off. You probably won't be able to get under those two minutes today, but I expect you to set a good benchmark."

Charles looked around at his classmates as he performed some final stretches. They all looked very determined and ready to give it their all.

"Big guy," Wolff said, as he pointed to Prangley, "let's start with you."

Prangley readied himself at the start line, and at Wolff's whistle he took off like a rocket. Charles knew that Jason Prangley was in excellent physical condition, but he wasn't prepared for the sheer speed and strength he witnessed as Prangley raced through the obstacle course.

"One minute and fifty five seconds!" Wolff yelled as Prangley crossed the finish line, not able to hide the excitation in his voice, "well done kid!"

Prangley was panting heavily, but managed to smile before he dropped to his knees from pure exhaustion.

"Okay, next up is Ensign Rodriguez!" Wolff called.

Vera managed to get through the course in a very respectable two minutes and twenty five seconds, which, to Charles' great relief, seemed to be enough to keep Sgt. Wolff off her back. The Bellarmines both clocked very similar times, Reiley being five seconds faster.

"Magnus, you're up!" Sgt. Wolff bellowed, and Charles shook his legs and got ready at the starting line.

His heart was already pounding, and he could feel every muscle in his body tense up, as he awaited the sound of Wolff's whistle.

When he was eventually sent off, he was so pumped that he nearly fell over with his first few steps, but he quickly regained his balanced and accelerated towards the first obstacle.

After what felt like hours later, he finally crossed the finish line. His vision was now severely blurred and he could sense the taste of iron in his mouth. His heart was pounding so hard that he couldn't hear Sgt. Wolff when he called out his time over the thumping in his ears.

"Excuse me, Sgt. Wolff, what was my time again?" he finally panted, when he regained control of his senses.

The sergeant took a quick look at his datapad.

"Two minutes and ten seconds, not the worst for a first time run," he grumbled, "but still, there's room for improvement."

"Yes sir," Charles panted, pleasantly surprised by his own performance.

Smiling, he took a seat with the rest of his classmates to watch Kurt finish his run.

"Two minutes and thirteen seconds!" Wolff bellowed as Kurt crossed the line, "good stuff Nielsen! Now go join the others."

Charles scooted down the bench to make room for the red faced Kurt. He patted him on the back and smiled, completely understanding how he felt.

"Good job!"

Apparently, Wolff noticed this as he was ready to send them off to the showers.

"Well, let's not start kissing each other's asses just yet. However, I will say this, you could all have done a lot worse today. Your times are definitely acceptable for first timers, but remember, you'll still need to improve."

"We're good rookies?" Kurt whispered to Charles when he finally caught his breath, "wouldn't want to see how he treats the bad ones."

* * *

_A/N_

_Alright everybody._

_I would like to thank all of you for reading._

_As mentioned earlier, feel free to review or PM me at any time about the story. Also, if I make any mistakes, please let me know._

_Happy thanksgiving to those of you who celebrate that, since the majority of my readers are American, that might be most of you._

_If you have any ideas for the story, I would be happy to hear them._

_I really enjoy writing 'Biotics Beginnings'. Both Jack, Prangley, Rodriguez and my original characters, so I will probably continue to upload chapters quite often._

_Hope you enjoy._

_- Simon_


	9. Guest Instructor

Chapter Nine - Guest Instructor

"Where the hell is this guy?"

Jack was pacing impatiently back and forth in Grissom Academy's arrival hall awaiting the arrival of a transport shuttle from earth.

Kahlee Sanders, who was casually leaning against a wall, shook her blonde head.

"Relax Jack. It's only been twenty minutes since the expected arrival time."

Jack moaned and took a seat on some boxes with food rations that had recently been delivered to the station. Just seconds later, she was drumming an aggressive rhythm with her fingers on a box filled with orange juice.

"It's been a few weeks now, how do you like your new job?" Asked Dr. Sanders to take jack's mind off the waiting.

Jack immediately stopped her drumming and locked eyes with her superior for a second.

A soft smile revealed itself from the corner of her mouth.

"It's all good. I like it."

Sanders sent her a smile of her own.

"Good. I'm glad to hear it. And the students... Are they behaving?"

"Yeah, they are like soft little lambs," jack laughed, "hell, I think even Prangley has learned when to shut the fuck up."

"Hmmm... That's good, I guess," Sanders said thoughtfully, "and how are they performing?"

Jack got up from her improvised seat and started to pace the floor again.

"They're good. Really good! These kids have extraordinary talents, that is for damn sure. Most of them can already do all of the really advanced stuff, like warp and singularity, they just need to put more power into it."

Dr. Sanders joined Jack in the middle of the arrival hall, as they heard the familiar rumble of a shuttle docking.

"And our friend Mr. Magnus? How is he?"

Jack pushed a strand of hair behind her ears as she contemplated her answer.

"He's fine, but still no biotics. He takes it as a man though, and he really tries to not let it show, but I can tell that he is getting really frustrated with himself."

Sanders nodded understandingly.

"Is there anything we can do?"

Jack shook her head.

"Nope. The control of his nervous system has to come from himself, I can only help him once that happens."

"Poor kid..." Sanders mumbled.

"Yeah... He doesn't want any kind of special treatment though, and he's really eager to learn. I think he knows the theory better than some of the other students by now, he just lacks the ability to put it to use," jack explained, "if he continues to work this hard, he could become an extraordinary biotic once his powers kick in."

Sanders smiled happily at her employee.

"Let's hope it happens soon then."

The older woman appeared to be pleasantly surprised to hear how much Jack cared about her students, but Jack couldn't blame her. In truth, She was very surprised herself. Besides from some of the Normandy crew, she had never felt like this about other people before.

Like with her friends from The Normandy, she would stand between her students and anyone who tried to harm them. She had felt this same feeling of responsibility when the collectors had tried to harm Shepard, Joker and Garrus or even some of the Cerberus crew like Taylor and Lawson.

Her attention was brought back to the arrival of their guest as he elegantly stepped into the hall.

He was wearing an elegant officer's uniform and polished boots so shiny that they blinded the two women when hit by the sharp lighting in the arrival hall. He smiled pleasantly and smoothed his ridiculously neat hair before approaching them.

Sanders slammed her heels together and crisply saluted the Alliance officer.

"Good evening Major Alenko. Welcome to Grissom Academy."

Alenko returned her salute with a smile.

"At ease, Lieutenant Sanders. Thank you."

He turned to face Jack.

"And you must be Jack?" He asked in a soft and pleasant voice.

She nodded and shook his hand.

"I've read your file," he continued, "quite the resume."

She smiled.

"Thank you for coming Major Alenko, can't say that I've heard much about you though, no offense."

"None taken", he laughed softly, dismissively waiving a hand in front of her, "and don't mention it. Nothing is more important to me than the education of young biotics."

Sanders nodded.

"I heard you were in BAaT, Major, it must have been horrible!"

Alenko's smiled faded slightly as he remembered his time at Brain Camp.

"Yes, It was, but I don't think that I should complain too much..."

He looked at Jack. "I read about Teltin. What Cerberus did there was despicable and I was happy to learn that it was recently blown to pieces. Did you know that?"

"I've heard about it," Jack said, trying to sound as innocent as possible.

As they followed Dr. Sanders out of the arrival hall and through the hallways, Jack and Major Alenko continued their conversation about their experiences as biotic children and their adventures aboard The Normandy.

"I can't believe that Shepard recommended me as your guest teacher," Alenko said, as they walked through the almost empty Orion Hall, "last time we met, the commander and I didn't part ways on the best terms."

Jack shrugged.

"He didn't! Dr. Chakwas did. Every time I went to the med bay, she would tell me stories from the good old days."

The major laughed loudly as he remembered the Chief Medical Officer of The Normandy.

"Ah, Doctor Karin Chakwas, how I miss that woman..."

"She told me a few stories from back when Admiral Anderson was still in charge of The Normandy, and she mentioned how you would get into all sorts of trouble with Shepard and some dude named Jenkins," Jack continued.

The major smiled and scratched his eyebrow.

"Yeah, those really were the good old days. Everything was much simpler back then, when we didn't even know about the reapers."

A few minutes later they arrived in front of Major Alenko's guest room, and Jack bid him goodnight.

"Sweet dreams Major. I will pick you up here at eight tomorrow, so we can introduce the students to you first thing in the morning."

Alenko smiled and yawned.

"Good night to you as well. See you tomorrow."

-X-X-X-

Charles and his friend were waiting patiently for Jack to show up in their classroom. As usual, she was a little late, but the students were used to this by now.

A week earlier Prangley had suggested that they could all sleep a little longer since Jack was almost always late. However, he was the only one who had actually tried it. Unfortunately for him, this was on one of those rare days where Jack wasn't late, and the language she had used to reprimand Prangley for being late had thoroughly convinced everyone, especially Prangley, that the risk was too heavy for a couple of minutes of extra sleep.

Prangley and Kurt were practicing their biotics by lifting the laughing Vera into the air and floating her back and forth across the room to the great amusement of Charles and the twins.

The door opened just as Prangley was causing Vera to do flips in midair, and when he lost his concentration for a second the girl fell screaming to the floor and landed with a thud.

"Rodriguez, and everybody else for that matter, take a seat!" Jack said, announcing her arrival to the classroom.

As the students quickly shuffled to their desks, Jack cleared her throat.

"Remember when I said that I would invite a guest instructor? Someone with alliance experience..."

The students nodded as Jack continued.

"Well, I have a treat for you. Allow me to introduce..."

After a long dramatic pause, in which the students were all anxiously staring at their teacher, Prangley finally cracked.

"Spill it woman!"

"... Major Kaidan Alenko, commander of the 1st Special Operations Biotic Company" Finished Jack with a smile, as a sharp dressed alliance officer with neat, jet-black hair entered the class room smiling and waving at the students.

"Hamana-hamana-hamana", Charles could swear he heard from Vera's desk as the major walked in.

He smiled and looked at Kurt, who apparently had heard the same, because he was rolling his eyes and shaking his head. Completely ignoring the others, Vera quickly adjusted her hair and made sure that her uniform was showing off her attractive figure as much as possible.

Major Alenko received a short and polite round of applause, which Jack cut short.

"Alright alright... Rodriguez, should I give you a minute to fold that tongue of yours back into your mouth, before I allow the major to introduce himself?"

Vera's face turned bright red, and her eyes quickly shot to the floor.

"I thought so," Jack continued, "And please Rodriguez, I believe the regulations require your uniform to remain zipped all the way up at all times... The major and I can see half your bra from up her!"

At this, both Kurt and Prangley literally fell off their chairs in hysterical laughter. Major Alenko, however, looked completely unaffected by the very awkward situation. He just stood there and smiled his gentle smile. Vera quickly made her uniform fit academy regulations and hid her face in her hands, only peeking out between her fingers once in a while to catch another glimpse of their guest.

When the commotion had settled back down, and Jack had 'politely' asked Nielsen and Prangley to crawl back into their seats, Major Alenko started his introduction.

"Hi there! I understand that some of you are contemplating careers with the Alliance military, and that you would like to hear what it's like..."

The students all nodded fervently, and Alenko continued.

"Good! First let me tell you about the history of biotics in the Alliance. Have any of you heard about Biotic Acclimation and Temperance Training?"

The major continued to talk to them about biotics in Alliance service, and Charles was surprised to learn how much humanity had learned about biotics in the relatively few years since Conatix Industries and The Alliance had been forced to close BAaT. Alenko also talked to them about his own work as the commanding officer of a biotic special unit and his time aboard The Normandy during the attack on The Citadel. Especially the latter earned him a lot of respect from the students.

"So you've worked with Commander Shepard as well?" Prangley asked.

"Yes, actually we were both on The Normandy during her shakedown run. I was assigned to The Normandy as commander of marine detail when Admiral David Anderson was still the commanding officer. Back then, Shepard was the XO. Of course he was made Spectre immediately after that shakedown run and was given command of The Normandy."

Prangley smiled and nodded, clearly impressed with the major's achievements.

"So, if we become soldiers, can we come serve under you?" Vera asked, shamelessly batting her eyelashes at the handsome officer.

Jack sighed deeply, but anxiously awaited Alenko's response which came promptly.

"Sure! If you qualify for military service, I would love to have you in my squad. All of you!"

Excited talk about how awesome it would be to work for Major Alenko broke loose in the classroom, but was quickly interrupted by Jack.

"Enough! Let's not get ahead of ourselves! Right now, most of you are still struggling with keeping tennis balls out of your barriers, and Sgt. Wolff tells me that you still have a long way to go before you'll be able to even be accepted into the military. So you probably shouldn't start sucking up to the major, as if he was your new boss just yet!"

Alenko looked thoughtful for a moment before taking the word again.

"Jack tells me that you were supposed to practice lifting and pulling objects toward you today, so I think that we should actually do that. I would like to see what you can do"

The students quickly got up to follow Jack and Alenko out the door and down the hallway to the gym.

When they all stood in a circle in the middle of the gym floor, Alenko looked around and whistled, obviously impressed.

"Nice facilities. Now, where are the weights? How much can you guys lift? Ten? Twenty pounds?"

"Hah," Jack laughed, "Major please, my students lift each other."

The major's jaw dropped to the floor, and he looked at the students around him, as if he was trying to figure out if Jack was joking.

"Each other, huh?" he finally mumbled. "That's extraordinary!"

The students, with the obvious exception of Charles, all tried hard not to look too smug. They all failed miserably.

In the following hour and a half, students were constantly floating around below the ceiling of the gym, held up by the powers of their classmates.

As he was still without useful biotic abilities, Charles spent the entire ninety minutes suspended in the air, and if he hadn't been so eager to hear every single instruction given to his classmates by Jack or Major Alenko, he would probably have fallen asleep out of boredom.

Suddenly, he felt the biotic field maintaining his altitude disappear and he plummeted towards the floor and a surely painful landing. In the very last second before his head slammed into the floor he felt himself slowing down before softly landing flat on his chest.

Relieved to be unharmed, he accusatorily stared in Vera's direction. She had been the one keeping him in the air, and it wasn't considered good behavior to drop your classmates from 50 feet.

He was expecting her to apologize, but she just stared back at him.

Suddenly he was rushed by Kurt, who knelt down in front of him and amicably ruffled his hair.

"That was amazing!"

Eyebrows raised, Charles looked at his friend.

"What was? Rodriguez nearly killed me!"

Kurt started to help him to his feet and was quickly joined by a very excited Jason Prangley.

"Dude! Well done!"

Not having any idea what they were talking about, he just stared at the both of them as if they crazy.

"Magnus! What the fuck was that?" Jack shouted as she shoved away Prangley and Kurt.

"Excuse me, Ma'am."

Jack spun on her heel to face Vera. "Rodriguez! I promise you, if he hadn't slowed himself down, I would have asked Sgt. Wolff to have you clean all the windows on the outside... Without a space suit!"

Suddenly, Charles realized what everybody was talking about.

"Hang on! I slowed myself down?"

Jack turned back to face him and nodded. He noticed Prangley and Kurt over each of her shoulders giving him thumbs up and smiling like crazy.

"B-but how?" he stuttered, feeling his knees starting to shake. "I-I didn't do anything on purpose. I just thought that one of you guys saved me."

They all shook their heads in the negative, as Alenko stepped up to congratulate him.

"Well done, son! Jack told me about your situation."

"Thank you, sir! But, I don't even know what I did."

Major Alenko shrugged and smiled. "That happens. Sometimes, when I get really upset or scared, I will accidentally send things flying across the room."

Jack nodded. "Yeah! When I get really pissed off, I will just destroy shit by reflex instead of consciously using my powers."

Charles held out his hands and looked at them in disbelief.

"So, because I was scared to hit the floor, I saved myself by reflex."

Alenko nodded.

"It would seem so. Though it isn't exactly the same as your actual physical reflexes. The theory is that your heightened adrenalin levels in an emergency situation influence your nervous systems, which of course controls your biotics... Turns out, that if you are a biotic and know the theory, you can use your abilities without making a conscious effort. But it's not something that's been studied very thoroughly."

Still staring at his trembling hands, it started to dawn on him what had actually happened.

"Does this mean that my biotics are 'activated' now?"

Jack and Alenko looked at each other and shrugged.

"Dunno," Jack said, and pointed to Vera, "why don't you try to lift Rodriguez off the ground. If you drop her, it would only seem fair."

Not hearing any complaints from Vera, Charles recalled everything he had learned about lifting and tried to focus all this knowledge into one thought.

Finally, he brought his hand upward in a swooping motion, but not a single thing happened, and Vera could breathe a sigh of relief.

"Hmmm.. Not yet, I guess," Jack said. "But remember this Magnus, it's still Progress!"

Charles nodded and smiled nervously, but on the inside he couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed. He had hoped that this experience would be the end of his time on the sidelines or as a test dummy at their most exciting classes. "Yes, Ma'am."

Shortly after, Jack announced that they were finished for today, and that they should all go to lunch together as it was getting quite late in the afternoon.

"Want to join us, Major?"

Alenko smiled, adjusted his uniform and smiled.

"I'd love to."

As they were all walking down the corridors towards Orion Hall, Charles was approached by Kurt and Vera.

"Oh Charles, I'm so sorry that I dropped you." Vera said, clearly embarrassed by what had happened.

Charles placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't beat yourself up about it. Look what happened! At least now I know that my implants actually work!"

Kurt gently tugged her ponytail.

"Rodriguez! How come you dropped our friend here in the first place?"

She scratched her neck nervously.

"Promise not to laugh?"

"Girl! You know I can't do that!"

"Fine. Then I won't tell..."

"Okay, okay! I promise I will not laugh!" Kurt said, practically laughing already.

Vera look him straight in the eye.

"If you do, I will tell Jack that it was all your fault!"

"Fair enough," Kurt conceded and put up his most serious face.

Vera sighed.

"So I was levitating Charles here, and then Major Alenko came over to adjust my stance..."

Kurt snorted, earning a deathly glance from Vera. Do you want to hear the rest of the story? When Kurt didn't laugh, Vera decided to continue.

"Everything was going fine until Alenko grabbed my hips to turn my body just a little bit. I am sure he wasn't trying to do anything funny, but I just completely lost it. My concentration was gone, and when I looked back up, Charles was no longer hanging there."

Charles struggled very hard not to laugh at Vera's reaction to Alenko's touch, but when he looked at Kurt, he could see that his problems were nothing compared to his friend's.

Kurt's face had become purple from holding his breath, tears were streaming down his cheeks and the corner of his mouth was twitching so much that it looked like he was about to have a seizure.

Looking at him, Charles couldn't help but laugh. Luckily for him, neither could Vera. Amazingly, Kurt held his promise, and after a few deep breaths and wiping his eyes he was looking like normal again. Well, as normal as you can while sporting a stupid grin as wide as the station.

-X-X-X-

"You all did good today! I must say, that I am very impressed by you skill level at such a young age," said Major Alenko, when they were all assembled in Orion Hall for lunch.

The students all thanked him.

"And you, Mr. Magnus," he continued, now directed at Charles, "congratulations on your first display of power... And saving yourself from falling on your face, I guess."

"Thank you, sir!" Charles replied politely, before taking another bite of his sandwich.

Jack caught the major's attention by clearing her throat.

"Hmm, will you be staying here for another night major? I am sure we have a guest room available for tonight as well. If not, I am sure Rodriguez will be more than willing to share her bed with you."

The students all laughed, and those, like Charles, who had had food in their mouths spewed it all over the table. Rodriguez's cheeks turned pink, and she tried to avoid the major's kind eyes as he laughed softly with the students.

"Thank you, Jack. And Miss Rodriguez... But I will be leaving in just a few hours. I really want to get back to earth for Shepard's hearing."

Jack apologetically shrugged.

"Too bad, Rodriguez!"

Prangley leant forward.

"Major, do you think they might actually rule Shepard guilty of treason for working with Cerberus?"

Alenko folded his fingers together and sighed deeply.

"I sure hope they won't! Shepard might have made a mistake when he worked with Cerberus, but you can't argue with his results. I am sure, that your instructor here can testament, that Shepard did everything he did, believing that it was all in humanity's, and the rest of the galaxy's, best interest."

Jack nodded sincerely.

"Yeah! Like me, Shepard never fully trusted Cerberus. They brought him back from the dead, and they offered him the resources he needed to save humanity from the collectors."

When they had all finished eating, Jack escorted their guest to the shuttle waiting to take him back to earth.

"Thank you again for coming, Alenko. It was good for them to hear what they can expect if they join the Alliance."

"No, Jack, thank you. It was absolutely my pleasure. Your students are incredibly talented." He winked at her. "You must be an excellent teacher."

Jack blushed slightly, but quickly regained control.

"Oh, shut it Alenko! I've been here for little over a month. Their basic training must have been amazing!"

He nodded and smiled.

"Do you ever get jealous of what they have been given here? I know that your childhood couldn't have been easy. Drug testing, pit fights and abusing 'teachers'! I would sure pick this place over BAat any day, so I can only imagine how you must be feeling."

Jack searched her mind for an appropiate answer.

"I do... Get jealous that is," she finally admitted quietly, "but then I try to focus all my energy into giving these kids everything that I never had myself."

Alenko nodded understandingly as Jack continued.

"I used to believe that the pain and anger made me stronger. And I suppose it actually did... But, Shepard showed me that you can make people fight a lot harder by being a good example and by giving them a purpose. I fought much better when trying to save the galaxy with people that I will now call friends, than I did back when I was constantly pissed off and without friends."

Alenko smiled.

"I'm sure you can be the good example, these students need to maximize their potential. You do seem a lot more mentally stable than your psych profile suggested," he said as they arrived at the shuttle and he climbed in.

"You shouldn't believe everything you read, major. People can change!" Jack said, as she took a few steps backwards to allow the shuttle to take off.

"Goodbye Jack. Maybe I'll see you again," Alenko said, as the shuttles door closed.

Jack nodded and crossed her arms.

"Yeah. Maybe."


	10. A Call From Earth

Chapter Ten - A Call From Earth

Everything was going well for Charles and his classmates. They were all improving their performances in Sergeant Wolff's shooting lessons, and though the cranky old soldier still didn't hold biotics in high regard, they were getting used to his rants. Along with everybody else, Charles was rapidly shaving seconds off his time on the obstacle course. Both him, Prangley and Kurt were now under the two minutes that were required to be accepted into The Alliance. Vera, Seanne and Reiley were still above the cut, but they were getting better.

Jack's lessons were teaching the kids more and more advanced techniques, and though Charles was still unable to perform them, he felt that he understood what was going on, and he could actually assist his classmates with doing the proper stances and hand movements. Especially Kurt, who wasn't as diligent when it came to homework, benefitted from Charles ability to assist when they were practicing.

He was still very unsatisfied with his situation, but his experience when Vera had dropped him a few days ago, had greatly strengthened his faith that someday, he would be able to do the things that he was reading about and seeing his friends do every day.

He just really hoped that it would be sooner rather than later.

"I thought we came down here to work out. Not sit around and stare into a wall," Prangley laughed and picked up the heaviest set of dumbbells he could find.

Charles had agreed to accompany Prangley to the gym for a quick workout. He figured that as long as his biotics hadn't kicked in, he could at least work on his physical strength, if nothing else he might be able to improve his time on the obstacle course.

"Sorry, I was just thinking about... Something," he excused.

Prangley groaned as he curled the heavy dumbbells again and again before finally letting putting them back in their rack.

"So, what did you think of our guest instructor?"

They both started to do bench presses next to each other.

"It was good," Charles replied with difficulty, too strained by the effort of bench pressing the heavy weight to formulate a more adequate answer.

"So, have you decided now... If you want to be a soldier, I mean?" Prangley asked, much less affected by lifting the weight, even though he was benching quite a bit more than Charles.

"No... Still... Don't... Know," Charles replied, each word forced out as he pushed the weight up.

They put down their weights and went to get a drink of water. Prangley looked at him with a cheeky smile on his lips.

"We have no classes tomorrow. Want to go grab a few drinks in Orion Hall? I have a date lined up with Sophia from combat engineering. She could probably set you up with one of her friends..."

Charles was nervous by just the thought of being put in a situation where he was supposed to have a conversation with a girl he had never met before.

It wasn't that he hadn't had the opportunity to talk to girls. Many of the young women on the station had noticed his charmingly untamed dark hair, tall build and his uncommonly blue eyes. However, every time a girl had said 'hello' to him in the corridors or in Orion Hall, he had become so nervous that all he could do was smile and offer them a polite nod in return. He wasn't being rude, but he sure wasn't getting any dates either. Though there were many pretty girls, that he had wanted to get to know better, he was always too nervous to even start a conversation with them.

"No thank you. I'm behind on my homework," he lied.

"Really?" Prangley said in disbelief, "well, suit yourself. Some of those engineers are some sexy little minxes."

Charles broke into a nervous laughter. "Still. Better get this homework done."

Prangley squirted some water into his mouth and positioned himself to do some pull ups.

"I'll just ask Nielsen then. He needs it! Always hangs out with Rodriguez, who is a total babe by the way, and never getting any. He must be constantly horny. Rodriguez, what a tease!"

Charles laughed. "I'm pretty sure they are just really good friends. Probably don't even look at each other like that. And I think he has a girlfriend back on Terra Nova."

"How can any guy not look at Rodriguez like that?" Prangley asked, as he started doing pull ups, "that girlfriend of his must be spectacular!"

Charles shrugged and started to run on a treadmill.

-X-X-X-

After a cold shower Charles was lying on his bed, doing nothing, just staring up into the ceiling.

He wasn't studying. He wasn't behind on any subjects. If anything, he was ahead.

Mad at himself for not having the guts to accept Prangley's offer of arranging a blind date, he started to consider walking down to Orion Hall any way.

He quickly dismissed that thought though. It would be weird, especially after having made up some homework as an excuse not to go.

Charles knew that this was actually just another excuse. He could probably come up with a good explanation for coming to Orion Hall even though he said he wouldn't. He was just too nervous to go.

He turned around and screamed into his pillow.

_Why do I have to be such a coward when it comes to women?_

As he was lying there on his bed, hating himself, he heard a beeping sound from the intercom system on his desk.

He quickly jumped to his feet and pressed the flashing 'incoming call'-button.

"Yes?"

The familiar voice of Dr. Sanders rang out through the speakers.

"Good evening, Mr. Magnus. This is Kahlee Sanders. I hope you weren't sleeping?"

"No, Ma'am."

Charles took a seat on his bed, but quickly got back up as Sanders continued.

"Good. We have an incoming video call from your parents. I can forward it to your intercom system if you'd like?"

Excitedly, Charles took a seat at his desk.

"Please do," he said happily.

Kahlee Sanders bid him good night and forwarded the video call to his room.

At that same moment, a holographic image of his parents appeared from his intercom system.

"Charles honey, how are you?" his mother cried.

"Hello Mother, I am well. How are you guys?"

His father shrugged.

"Everything is as it's always been here in the village. We miss you though!"

Charles smiled and felt a tear in the corner of his eye.

"Miss you too."

There was a short pause, in which Charles and his parents just looked at each other. They didn't have to say anything. They knew, even though they were in the other end of the galaxy, that he loved them.

"In your last message to us, you were still not able to control your powers. How about now?" His mother finally broke the silence.

Charles shook his head.

"Still nothing. There was an interesting incident recently though, where I accidentally made something happen."

Charles told them the story about how his biotics had flared up for just a second, but made sure to omit the part where he almost cracked his head open on the floor.

No need to make them nervous.

He also told them about his friends, and all the stuff that they were learning. However he chose not to tell them that they had recently agreed to focus on combat biotics, and that they were learning how to shoot and pass The Alliance's obstacle course. Neither did he tell them, that their teacher was a psychotic convict with tattoos from head to toe and bad language.

"Are there any pretty girls there?" his father asked with a smirk.

"A few," Charles answered mysteriously, enjoying the effect his vague answer had on his mother, whose eyes lit up like stars.

"Oh, so you have a girlfriend?"

Charles rolled his eyes.

"No Mother. I don't. I just said that there are girls here. Some of them are pretty. For fuck's sake, there are over four thousand women on this station. Some of them are bound to be attractive."

As soon as he had finished that sentence, he realized his mistake and slammed his hand over his mouth, praying that his parents hadn't noticed. Apparently, Jack's language had affected him more than he recognized.

Obviously, his mother had certainly heard him curse. She was scowling at him with the same angry eyes that Charles recognized from his childhood. She would look at him the same way when he had dragged dirt into the house, or forgot to perform his duties.

"Charles Magnus! What kind of language do they teach you there? You certainly didn't learn to talk like that from us."

Charles bit his lip.

"Sorry, Mum."

Once again, he assured them that there wasn't any future daughter in law that he hadn't introduced them to, before his father changed the subject.

"What about your future, son? Have they talked you into joining the military?"

"Not yet," Charles quickly replied, "I am still undecided."

"Good," his mother sharply said.

"Just remember, Charles," his father finished, "that whatever you decide, we just want you to be happy."

His mother nodded slowly, but Charles knew that she would still try to convince him not to, if he decided to pursue a military career. Still, it was nice to hear them say it.

His parents updated him on what had happened in their village, which was absolutely nothing, and in his nearest family. Also nothing.

Hearing about how everything back in the village was still exactly the same, and learning that his weirdo cousin had just turned fourteen, he was indescribably pleased with his decision to accept the implants and travel to Grissom Academy. It was all just so boring and meaningless back home.

Even without biotic powers, he still preferred life on the academy. Life on the station was anything but boring, and in all ways much better than in the village back on Earth. Even if it meant that he wouldn't be near his parents.

Following a tearful goodbye, he once again contemplated going for a quick drink in Orion Hall, but eventually opted for calling it an early night.

Feeling like a poor excuse for a man, he decided to try and will himself into becoming more extravert and less shy around women and strangers in general. He knew from experience, that his shyness would cause people to lose interest in him. That had happened back in the village, and he really wanted things to be different at the academy.

_Next time!_

_Next time I'll go for drinks! _He mumbled to himself before drifting off to sleep.


	11. Shootout

Chapter Eleven - Shootout

"Silence!"

The students immediately quieted down.

Sergeant Wolff was standing in Orion Hall with the six students of the Ascension Project around him in a tight circle.

As always, there was a sour look on his face, his arms were crossed, and he was angrily tapping his foot on the floor.

Half of the floor space in Orion hall had been cleared, all tables and chairs moved to the other end of the hall.

Charles concealed a yawn. It was getting late in the evening, but they hadn't been able to book the entire hall before they were sure that all other activities there were concluded.

Some large wooden panels had been placed, seemingly at random, around the otherwise empty part of the hall.

"Listen up! The engineers will get here in a minute, and I have some information for you before they get here," Wolff boomed and held up an M-3 predator pistol painted in bright yellow.

"This is a standard Alliance practice pistol. It functions exactly like a normal weapon, realistic recoil and all."

He drew out a thermal clip from back pocket and shoved it into the pistol.

"Like the real thing, you need to change the thermal clip for every twelve shots."

He passed out a bright yellow pistol and a bunch of thermal clips for each of them.

"The pistols act exactly like real guns, except for one obvious difference. They don't fire pieces of metal, but a red laser beam."

The sergeant grabbed Reiley's arm and dragged him to the center of the circle.

"As you can see, your uniforms have been fitted with a number of receivers. That means, if you are shot by one of these guns, you will be electrically shocked in the part of the body where you took the hit."

"Does it hurt?" Vera asked, nervously wringing her hands.

Wolff just stared at her with disgust for moment, before rapidly raising his gun wielding arm and firing two quick shots into Reiley's back.

"Fucking hell!"the young man screamed and fell to his knees.

Sgt. Wolff looked down at him, an evil smirk painted on his face. "Does it hurt Ensign Bellarmine?"

"Not much, Sergeant Wolff," the now red faced boy answered, obviously determined to not show weakness in front of the hardened soldier.

Reiley got back to his feet and took his place in the circle next to his twin sister, who worriedly rubbed the place between his shoulder plates that had been hit by the laser beams.

"Still," Wolff continued calmly, "it's probably preferable to avoid being hit."

Moments later, they were joined in Orion Hall by six senior students from the combat engineering department. As always, they wore their green uniforms, and like the Ascension Project students', theirs were also outfitted with a number of receivers.

Charles immediately recognized Prangley's girlfriend, or whatever she was, Sophia amongst the students. She was truly beautiful, and from the few times they had met, Charles had gathered that she was very kind and friendly, which begged the question 'why choose Prangley as a boyfriend?'

Not that Charles hated Prangley. It was just that sometimes, he could be such a pain in the ass. Charles thought to himself that he could have misjudged Sophia, or maybe she was just a nice girl who liked douche bags. There was also the possibility that Prangley was behaving differently, when he was with Sophia.

Either way, Prangley had always claimed that she wasn't his girlfriend. He didn't want to get tied down, but Kurt and Charles were both certain that their obnoxious class mate was mad for the beautiful engineer. He was just unwilling to admit it, or maybe he didn't realize it.

"Good. They're here," Wollf murmured, "I have to go and tell them about the guns as well. Jack will be here in a second. She will be 'leading you into battle'."

"What a dick!" Reiley hissed as soon as the sergeant was out of earshot. "It really fucking hurts! Try not get hit."

"Aww, what a cry-baby!" Prangley taunted.

"Fuck you, Prangley!" Reiley retorted.

There was a flash of red, and a split second later Prangley was sitting on the floor grabbing his chest.

"Y-you shot me!" he complained to the girl pointing her gun at him.

"I did," Seanne stated coldly. "Looks like it hurts you too, huh?"

At that moment, Jack entered the hall and joined her students.

Prangley quickly got back on his feet while muttering something about cheap shots and not being prepared.

Jack took position in the center of their little circle without as much as a 'hello'.

"Listen up people! Tonight you're fighting those geeky engineers, and I can promise you that I will not take it lightly if I see any of you goofing around out there!"

The students nodded in unison. "Yes Ma'am!"

Jack scanned their faces, seemingly searching for any signs of doubt or hesitation.

"I am going to divide you into two teams. Who shoots best?"

They all pointed to Seanne, though Prangley only hesitantly.

Jack turned to face Seanne.

"Bellarmine, you'll be the leader of team one. Your brother and Rodriguez will be under your command."

Reiley and Vera smiled, happy to be placed in the top ranking shooter's team.

Jack ran her fingers thoughtfully through her dark hair, as she pondered who should be leading the second team.

Finally, she jabbed her index finger hard into Prangley's chest.

"You're it, big guy."

"Aye Ma'am," prangley smiled, as he shook hands with Kurt and Charles who evidently had been placed under his command.

Satisfied with her teams, Jack started pacing back and forth in front of the six anxious students.

"You better do your best! I'm not doing this just for shits and giggles, and I will not tolerate anything but your top performance!"

"Yes, Ma'am!" the students acknowledged.

"Also, I really want to show that asshole Wolff, that biotics can be good soldiers without using their powers," she added grimly, causing laughter to break out among the students.

Soon after they were joined by the six combat engineers, their instructor and a very bitter looking Sergeant Wolff. Nothing new there, Charles thought.

"The rules," Wolff boomed, "are very simple. If you're hit, you're out!"

Charles nodded. Judging from the reactions from Prangley and Reiley, it wouldn't be a problem to determine if he was hit or not.

"You guys," Wolff continued, pointing to the engineers, "are not allowed to put up shields or send out drones."

The engineers agreed.

"And you lot," Wolff said, turning to face the biotics, "are not allowed to use any of that freaky hocus pocus stuff. No barriers either!"

Prangley looked like a guy who was just about to tell the old man what he could do to him with his biotics, but Jack silently shut him up with a surprisingly mature stare. It was obvious that Kahlee Sanders had ordered her to make nice with the sergeant.

When the engineers and biotics had taken their positions in opposite ends of the 'battlefield', Wolff blew his whistle and started the fight.

Immediately, Prangley and Seanne led their respective teams to the sides of the battlefield. Seanne's team started to push forward along the right perimeter, while Prangley's team two rushed from cover to cover in a mad dash for the left side of the room.

"Take cover here!" Prangley ordered, and Charles and Kurt joined him behind one of the wooden panels that had been put up as visual and physical obstructions.

Prangley looked at his team, both of them were panting lightly from the sprint.

"We'll use the cover to rush them, before they know what hid them. End this fight quickly!" he panted.

Kurt raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure!" Prangley hissed, "Don't question me Nielsen, I'm in charge here!"

"Yes Sir," Kurt answered mockingly.

Evidently, Prangley chose to ignore his snide comment. "Follow me!"

Sprinting from cover to cover, they quickly approached the place where the engineers had started. They still hadn't caught sight of their opponents, and Charles was beginning to get a bad feeling about their tactics. Or lack thereof. All of a sudden, he felt a sharp pain in his right thigh and tumbled to the ground. He was running at full speed, and when he lost control of his right leg, his forward momentum caused him to crash painfully face first into one of the wooden covers.

His sight was swimming for a moment, but he could see Kurt and Prangley beeing hit several times before falling to the ground. All six combat engineers stepped out from their covers, where they had been waiting for them. Sophia blew Prangley a kiss and winked at him before leading her team out to find the three remaining biotics. The first round was finished shortly after that. Seanne's team had been overwhelmed by the six engineers, and had only managed to hit one of them.

As they returned to Jack for a quick debriefing before round two, they could tell that she was infuriated.

"What the fuck was that, Prangley?" she screamed.

Prangley opened his mouth to defend his actions, but she didn't let him.

"You were being stupid, and you cost your entire team their lives!"

There was an uncomfortable silence for a moment.

"Magnus," Jack turned to face Charles, "you are the new leader."

Charles was torn between two emotions. On one hand, he was happy to be considered for the task, but he also knew that it meant a lot more to Prangley to be in charge than it did to him.

"With all due respect Ma'am," Charles muttered, "but I think Prangley should get another chance."

Jack looked at him, one eyebrow raised.

"And why is that?"

"I think he has learned his lesson," Charles explained.

"Alright! Last chance Prangley!" Jack said, poking her finger into his chest.

"Thank you, Ma'am. I will be better!" Prangley said happily, the usual smile back on his face.

Just as they were heading back out to start round two, Jack dragged Charles away from the rest of the group.

"You're bleeding," she stated in a soft voice, that Charles had never heard her use before.

He rubbed his eyebrow with his fingers, and saw that there was quite a bit of blood on it.

"Stand still," Jack ordered and drew something from her pocket, "I have some medi-gel here."

She softly applied the gel, which immediately dulled the stinging sensation that he had been feeling.

"Remember what I said to you a few weeks ago? You should not be afraid to speak up. You don't have to let Prangley be the team leader," she whispered while gently distributing the medi-gel to his cut brow.

Charles was feeling very strangely about the closeness with his instructor, but he managed to answer without trembling.

"I know, Ma'am. I just wanted him to have a second chance."

He looked down at the woman in front of him, and their eyes locked for an instant. Charles quickly looked back up, keeping an eye on his classmates over her head.

She smiled and patted his cheek. "Good. If he screws it up again, I will put you in command, and I will not allow you to decline."

He smiled back at her. "I promise you, I won't."

With his eyebrow fixed, Charles returned to his team, and at Wolff's whistle, round two had begun.

This time, Prangley was being a lot more patient and willing to accept suggestions from Charles and Kurt. After about five minutes of searching, they suddenly heard muffled voices from close by. They quickly took cover, and waited for the engineers to pass by.

"That was all six of them," Charles stated.

Kurt nodded. "I say we follow them, and wait for a chance to shoot them from behind."

Prangley smiled. "Good idea. Let's move out!"

Creeping from cover to cover, Prangley's team quickly got a visual on the six green-clad engineers moving slowly and vigilantly through the battlefield.

Suddenly, the engineer walking in front was hit by a red laser beam and fell to his knees with a loud moan.

Seanne's team had started an assault on the engineers, but was now being pushed back by the five remaining engineers.

"Engage!" Prangley roared, after quickly having assessed the situation.

Charles and Kurt spun out from the sides of the cover they had been crouching behind, while Prangley jumped over it, and they all moved up to get into better shooting positions.

Two combat engineers were quickly taken out of the fight by Prangley and Charles, before they even realized that they were being attacked from behind.

"On our six!" Sophia screamed, and the remaining three engineers quickly took cover.

Seanne's team started to move closer to the engineers, now that the biotics outnumbered their opponents.

Caught in the crossfire between Prangley's and Seanne's team, there were nowhere for Sophia and her two classmates to go, and she was soon after hit by Seanne.

One of the two remaining engineers tried to make a run for it, but was brutally cut down by four laser beams to the back.

The last remaining combat engineer had managed to find himself some cover, where he was impossible to hit by both fire teams.

"Give me some covering fire!" Charles shouted, and ejected his empty thermal clip. "And give me a clip! I'm out."

Kurt tossed him a thermal clip from behind his cover, which Charles caught and slammed into his pistol.

"Covering fire! Now!" He repeated.

Simultaneously, Prangley and Kurt rose from their covers and concentrated fire on the engineer, who quickly dove back down behind his wood panel.

In that same moment, Charles jumped his own cover and sprinted towards the place, where he knew the engineer was now crouching. Reaching his top speed, he threw himself forward and slid right past the cover. He just managed to perceive the surprised look on the engineers face when he came to a halt behind him, before placing three shots in his opponent's back.

Charles quickly got to his feet and offered the wincing young man before him a hand to get back up from where he had fallen after Charles' surprise attack.

"Nice moves!" he praised, still rubbing his back.

"Thanks," Charles grinned, before he was charged by his cheering classmates.

"And they say, I'm reckless!" Prangley laughed and slapped Charles' back.

-X-X-X-

Two hours later, Wolff called it a night and ordered the maintenance mechs in to remove the wood panels and put all the tables and chairs back to their original positions.

They had gone through twenty rounds, and in the end The Ascension Project had conceded an overall defeat. They had lost eleven rounds, but Jack still seemed relatively satisfied by their performance.

"We'll get them next time, guys! At least you showed Wolff that you've got game!"

"Good game," Sophia said smilingly, as she walked up to Charles and offered him a handshake, which he gladly accepted.

"Congratulations," he said, "you won't tease him too much about this, will you?" He nodded in Prangley's direction.

She smirked. "I think Jason could do just fine with a reminder that he's not the king of the universe, don't you?"

Charles looked at Prangley, who was in the middle of reenacting a specifically nice move he had made during the last round.

Sophia and Charles looked at each other again and laughed.

"Yeah, you're probably right, Sophia," he said, shook his head and moved on to congratulate the rest of the combat engineers.

After a quick kiss, Sophia and her class mates left Prangley and the rest of the Ascension Project advanced class to themselves.

"You see the girl next to Sophia?" Prangley whispered to Charles, as the engineers were heading out of the hall.

Charles noticed the dark skinned, long legged girl who was talking and laughing with Sophia and nodded.

"That's Lichelle," Prangley continued, "she was the girl that Sophia and I wanted you to meet."

"Was?" Charles asked.

Prangley put an arm around his shoulders. "She has a boyfriend now. Sorry."

Charles took another look at Lichelle's disappearing figure.

"Seems like I should have down-prioritized my homework, huh?"

Prangley patted his back.

"Well, I did fucking tell you she was hot!"

"Who's hot?" Vera asked from behind them, causing both of them to spin around.

Charles could feel his face becoming red, but Prangley just looked at her with a pristine expression.

"You are," he said, breaking into a huge smile.

Vera froze. Then she noticed the stupid look on Prangley's face and started hitting him playfully.

"Oh, shut up Prangley! You're such a dick!"

"You asked," Prangley laughed, trying to protect his face from Vera's hands.

"I'm going to bed now!" Vera stated bluntly, and started to walk towards the doors.

Prangley smiled and winked at Charles.

"Sweet dreams, Rodriguez!"

* * *

_Thank you for the nice reviews. It makes me happy that people like 'Biotic Beginnings', and that makes me try harder to make it as good as I can._

_There will soon be a new student at Grissom Academy. The student will be someone who is known to Mass Effect fans. See if you can guess who! :)_

_Please, keep the reviews coming and feel free to write me a PM if you have any good ideas._

_- Simon_


	12. Oriana

Chapter Twelve - Oriana

_"Jack?"_

_Screw you!_

_"Jack! Are you awake?"_

_Aww, now I am!_

"What time is it?" Jack mumbled sleepily at her intercom.

_"It's 4:30, Jack. I'm sorry for calling you so early, but I need you to come meet me in my office right away,"_ Kahlee Sanders' voice sounded from Jack's desk.

Jack had become close enough to the Ascension Project's head director to recognize the sincerity in her words, so she immediately climbed out of bed and started to put on her uniform. "I'll be there ASAP, lieutenant."

_This better be important. Had a nice dream going on!_

She quickly brushed her teeth and tied her hair into the usual ponytail. Not knowing what would happen once she reached Sanders' office, she decided that she would at least look presentable. Satisfied that her makeup appeared half decent, she concluded that the woman glaring back from her mirror looked as normal as ever.

_Hah! Normal!_

Stepping out into the hallway, she immediately noticed how much darker than usual it was out there. Normally, the corridors of Grissom Academy were unusually well-lit for a space station, but now they were only illuminated by what appeared to be emergency lighting.

Jack wondered for a second, if there was some sort of emergency, and if that was why she was awakened at such an early hour. However, she quickly discarded that theory. Sanders' tone of voice had had a sense of urgency to it, but not a hint of distress. It was likely that the lights were turned down to a minimum at night to preserve energy.

She shivered slighty. The station seemed to be a lot colder than during the daytime. Maybe they turned the heat down during the nights as well. Remembering why she was out of bed at this ungodly hour, she decided that she could get warm by talking a slight detour to Kahlee's office, as there didn't seem to be any emergency.

As she passed through Orion Hall, she saw that the kitchen staff had already begun putting out breakfast, and a few insomniac kids were scattered around the hall, quietly enjoying an early meal. Not for the first time, she felt a pang of jealousy of the freedoms and friendships that the students at Grissom Academy had. Once again, she wondered how she could have turned out, if she had been a student of the Ascension Project instead of being Cerberus' Subject Zero.

_Maybe I could have had friends. I could have known my parents. Maybe I wouldn't have had so many horrible thoughts in my head. I could have been... Normal._

She shook the thought from her head. There was no point in wishing for a different past. She couldn't change the past, but she could prepare for the future. Right now, she was dedicated to giving her students the skills and the knowledge that might increase their chances of surviving the reaper invasion that Shepard had seemed so certain was coming.

Deep in her thoughts, she grabbed a piece of bread from a young male student's plate as she passed by.

"Hey!" He yelled, but was immediately silenced by the scowl that Jack gave him.

She looked down at him, his uniform and the cover of the book he had been reading indicated that he was most likely a student of galactic economy. He was probably about her own age, which reminded Jack how young she actually was. To be holding a job like hers in such a young age was unheard of, and a clear testament to her rough adolescence where she was forced to grow up quickly in order to survive.

Ironically, everybody on The Normandy had judged her to be immature. Almost childish.

She looked back down at the still seated economist. Knowing that Sanders would appreciate it, she decided to play nice.

"You mind if I take this?" she chirped in her sweetest voice, which felt utterly unnatural.

"N-No, go ahead. I'll just get another one," the student stuttered, confused by the sudden change of mood.

"Thanks, hon," Jack drawled, hating how she sounded when trying to be seductive.

"You're welcome," he said, now sporting a wry smile, "Ma'am," he added, evidently identifying her by the modified uniform as an Ascension Project instructor.

She winked at him, took a bite of the bread, turned on her heel and proceeded towards the other end of Orion Hall. She imagined how the baffled economist was now checking out her ass, as she walked away from his table, but she had no problems with people looking at her body, and with this guy, she had been asking for it.

Arriving at Sanders' door, she finished the last of 'her' bread before pressing the panel that served as a doorbell.

"Come in, Jack!" Sanders said from her desk, as the door opened.

The head director was sitting behind her desk, smiling and looking as youthful and attractive as ever clad in her blue, medal-hung uniform.

Across from her, in the two chairs on the other side of her desk, were two women with their backs to the door. Jack froze in the doorway. Something has to be wrong here!

The woman to the right, she couldn't recognize. Her hair was short, and she was dressed in an elegant civilian dress, but Jack had no idea who she was. The other one, however, she immediately recognized. Even from behind.

_Hell, I've heard men make jokes about this woman being easier to recognize from behind._

That wavy, dark hair.

That skin-tight, black and white uniform with the beehive pattern.

And...

She looked further down.

And... That ass!

"Lawson," she calmly deducted.

"Hello, Jack," the other said, as she turned and smiled at her former teammate. "It's just Miranda to you."

"Okay, Miranda," Jack said skeptically, "what the hell are you doing here? Cerberus sent you to bring me in for further testing?"

Miranda's smile faded, and she took on a serious expression. "You know I'm not with them anymore. In fact, The Illusive seems to doing everything within his considerable might to have me killed."

Jack held back the remark she was about to make about Miranda deserving to be on the receiving end of Cerberus' spear of humanity. The two of them had been civil with each other ever since Shepard had settled a dispute between them regarding the Teltin Facility, and she didn't want to hold any grudges. In truth, she had eventually come to respect the other woman for her intelligence and biotic abilities. The former operative had failed in her judgment of Cerberus, but so had many others, and Jack found herself believing that Miranda was unaware of the more macabre projects.

Jack crossed her arms and looked back and forth from Miranda to the younger woman next to her and to Sanders.

"Alright. So why are you here?"

Miranda breathed a deep sigh. "Remember when Shepard assisted me with something on Illium? I said it was personal, and I refused to let anyone but the commander in on my secret."

Jack nodded. "You two were gone for hours, and when you came back, Shepard had hurt his shoulder..." She paused, scanning her brain for the memory of that evening in Nos Astra, "... And your ankle was fucked as well."

"Good memory," Miranda commended and gestured towards the lady next to her. "This is my sister, Oriana. She was the reason, we were gone. We had to prevent the Eclipse mercenaries from kidnapping her and taking her to our father."

Jack waived indifferently to Oriana. "Kidnapped by your father, huh? I take it you don't like him much?"

"Don't remember him," Oriana answered, causing Jack to raise an eyebrow.

"Which is probably for the best," Miranda commented, "I took Oriana from our father when she was just a baby."

Jack was shocked. Even for a cold and calculative person like Miranda, it seemed extreme to take a baby from its parents. "Why would you do that?" she asked, "and where is your mother in all this?"

Miranda wringed her hands, like she was about to reveal a great secret. "We don't have a mother. We are designed by our father, Henry Lawson. The bastard wants to build a dynasty, and he designed me to help him. When I didn't want to, he grew Oriana to take my place." She breathed another deep sigh, "I couldn't let him do all the same things to her. I wanted her to have a normal life. So, I took her from him and Cerberus helped me find other parents for her."

"I see," Jack said, rubbing her neck. Surprised at the level of confidence that Miranda showed her. "And now Oriana wants to join the academy?"

"Yes," Oriana said with a bright smile.

Miranda nodded. "Oriana is really excited to be here. But her education is not our main concern at this point."

"It seems our father has learned of my whereabouts, so I need a new place to hide," Oriana explained.

"Oriana will join your class this morning, Jack," Sander said, as she got up to shake Oriana's hand. "Welcome to Grissom Academy, Oriana. Let me show you to your room."

The Ascension Project's head director and its newest students left the office, leaving Jack alone with Miranda.

There was a long and very uncomfortable silence. The two women had never really talked together in private, and never about anything not related to their missions. Not counting their initial 'discussions' about Cerberus.

Miranda was still sat on her chair, one leg crossed over the other and her hands neatly folded over her knees. She appeared slightly uncomfortable, but hid it well behind her professional facade.

Jack was still leaning against the doorframe, trying to look as bored as she could.

Finally, Miranda rose from her chair and turned to face Jack.

"Look, Jack," she started, "I owe you an apology. I defended Cerberus, even in the face of all the evidence of their horrible deeds. I still believe The Illusive Man did the right thing when he assigned me to bring Shepard back. Our safe return from a completed suicide mission proves him right. But still, I should never have defended what they did on Pragia. For that I am sorry. I hope you can forgive me?"

Jack was shocked. She would never have believed that Miranda Lawson would apologize for anything, if she hadn't just heard it herself. The former executive officer of The Normandy SR-2 always seemed so self assured and uncompromising.

Jack nodded. "People should be judged by their actions. You, Jacob and I have seen more shit together in a few months, than most ever will. We had to trust each other with our lives several times, and none of us ever betrayed that trust. I should have been able to look past the logos on your uniforms, and I never could. I am sorry too. And I accept your apology."

Miranda held out a hand, which Jack immediately shook. "I am glad. I'm just sorry that it took so much for me to finally recognize Cerberus for what it is."

There was another awkward pause.

Eventually, Jack silently motioned for Miranda to follow her out of the office.

"You leaving now?" she asked as they walked down Ascension Hall.

"Soon," Miranda answered, "but I would like to be there at Oriana's first class. That is, if that is okay with you?"

"Sure," Jack shrugged, "maybe you can even help."

They walked out of Ascension Hall and out into the general corridors of the station, which were now starting to fill up with students of many different classes and ages, all stumbling sleepily towards Orion Hall and breakfast.

"Morning Ma'am," a little boy from Ascension Project chirped, as soon as Jack appeared from the doorway leading to his classroom.

"Good morning," she answered offhandedly, not having any idea what the boy's name was.

Miranda gave out a soft laughter. "I must admit Jack, not in a million years would I have guessed, that you would become a teacher."

There was no mockery or insult in her voice, only surprise.

_Me neither..._

_Me neither..._

-X-X-X-

"What is on our schedule today?" Kurt asked before shoveling some cereal into his mouth.

He, Charles and Prangley were eating breakfast together in Orion Hall.

"Barriers," Vera answered happily, as she joined the others at their table. "Isn't it lovely?"

"Yes, Rodriguez, we know," Prangley groaned tiredly, "you're good at barriers."

"I thought that you all had pretty much perfected your barriers?" Charles interjected, hating that he had to exclude himself in sentences like that.

"Yes," Rodriguez explained, "but this is inclusive barriers. Putting up a barrier to protect not only yourself, but other people as well."

"Shit! I just stopped taking spheres to the face recently with the normal barrier training," Kurt whined.

A couple of younger girls, probably around fourteen or fifteen, walked past their table, trying to get a good look at the older Ascension Project students.

In that same moment, Prangley decided to stretch his muscular upper body, causing the girls to snicker uncontrollably.

"You did that on purpose, you dick!" Vera laughed and punched his shoulder, as the younger girls hurried away.

"What?" Prangley asked innocently, but was unable to hide the smirk on his face. "I'm not the only one, look behind you!" He said, nodding towards the table next to them.

As soon as Vera turned around, the four boys at the table got awfully busy with their cereal or immediately found something 'interesting' in the ceiling to stare at.

Prangley, Kurt and Charles laughed amongst themselves.

"Come on Rodriguez, give them a little show!" Prangley giggled, pushing her out of her seat.

She sighed, but then put on a neutral face and started to walk towards the four boys' table.

Charles noticed how she consciously swayed her hips much more than usual, as she walked right past the table. Obviously, the four boys also found this incredibly attractive, because they leant out on their chairs and even stood up to get a better look at Rodriguez' figure as she left Orion Hall.

Charles, Kurt and Prangley got up from their table and walked over to the four boys.

"Enjoying the view, boys?" Prangley laughed, making all four boys blush and shrink in their seats.

Laughing loudly, they continued to the other end of Orion Hall where Vera was waiting for them, and they all walked to their classroom together.

When they entered the classroom, the twins had already taken their seats and Jack was standing impatiently at her desk. Nervously, Charles checked his watch to make sure they were not late. They weren't, so this was one of the few times where Jack had turned up on time.

Quickly, the newly arrived took their seats.

"Why are there two extra desks in here?" Vera asked, pointing to the two desks at the front that hadn't been there the day before.

"There's another new student arriving today," Seanne explained, "Apparently, she is here with her sister, hence the other desk."

"Exciting!" Vera said.

"A girl, you say?" Prangley smirked, "very exciting indeed!"

"Shut it, Prangley!" Jack growled, "Bellarmine is correct. Oriana Lawson will be joining us today. She is currently in Lieutenant Sanders' office along with her sister, probably clearing the last of the paperwork."

She quickly scanned their faces.

"I want all of you to treat her nicely. Her sister, Miranda, is a former colleague of mine, and trust me, she will hurt you more than I ever could, if you are not nice to her sister."

"A violent former colleague of yours?" Prangley asked, "would that be from your time as a pirate or a merc?"

Jack sighed. "Neither. She was the executive officer on the Normandy."

There was a moments silence in the classroom.

"Cool," Kurt whispered, "we get to meet our third Normandy crew member!"

Just seconds later, the door opened and a beautiful, young woman stepped in. She smiled contagiously as she flicked a strand of her short her away from her eyes and took a seat at one of the new desks. Charles shot a side-glance at Kurt who nodded approvingly at the sight of their new classmate.

Following her into the classroom was her sister, and if Charles had thought Oriana was beautiful, he was completely thrown back by the appearance of Miranda Lawson. She was, without comparison, the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Judging from the dropped jaws of Prangley, Kurt and Reiley, he wasn't alone. All four boys just stared at the woman, who smiled and waved to the students before taking a seat next to Oriana.

She was wearing a skintight uniform that did nothing to hide her sexy figure, and her brown hair fell naturally around her beautiful face, but her beauty was only half the attraction. There was something about the way she walked. The way she carried herself made her even more intriguing. Charles could feel his mouth starting to get dry, so he closed it, and tried to focus on anything else but the two beautiful sisters who had just entered the classroom.

Slightly annoyed by the spell that Miranda seemed to have put on the male population in the classroom, Jack walked down between the four desks where Charles, Prangley, Kurt and Reiley were sat, knelt down and motioned for them to lean in around her.

"Listen up boys," she whispered, barely audible, "I've seen what Miranda Lawson does to men before. Men much older and smarter than you. So I am not angry with you for drooling and whatever the fuck you guys are doing here, but you will pay attention in my class! Or I shall personally throw you out the airlock! Are we clear?"

The boys nodded silently, and Jack walked back to her own desk and started their class on inclusive barriers.

Ninety minutes later, when Jack had concluded the theoretical introduction to the subject, the students had gone to the gym to practice.

Practicing inclusive barriers worked exactly like practicing the personal barriers. Jack supplied them with the spheres and asked them to throw them at each other. The only difference was that now, the one putting up the barrier had to protect another student as well.

Charles spent most of the day just standing there, allowing his classmates to try to protect him and themselves from the incoming spheres. They had done so with varying succes.

Vera had managed to keep every single sphere out of her barrier, earning a rare applause from Jack.

Prangley had also done well, only allowing a single sphere through. That sphere, however, had been slowed down by the barrier, and didn't maintain enough speed to inflict any damage.

The Bellarmines had both let two spheres through. Fortunately for Charles, none of them had hit him, but Reiley was trying to stop his nose from bleeding after having been hit in the face by his own sister.

Kurt had also allowed two spheres to enter. Sadly, they had both hit Charles, who was now simultaneously rubbing his knee and his lower back.

"Sorry mate," Kurt apologized, "it would be more fair if they had hit they guy who failed to maintain the barrier."

"Don't be," Charles winced through his agony, "fighting is not supposed to be fair."

"Replacement?" Jack asked, as Charles shook his leg to check the mobility of his bruised knee.

"Nah, I'm fine."

"Good," Jack said, clapping her hands together, "Oriana, you're last!"

The new girl smilingly stepped forward and placed herself next to Charles, who immediately straightened up and stopped rubbing his back and knee. Her smile slowly faded as she adopted a more serious attitude and her biotic aura started to visualize. Suddenly, Miranda stepped forward and grabbed Oriana's arms.

"Hold your arms out like this, Ori," she said, guiding Oriana into a better stance.

Charles had lost all focus on what he was doing, now that Miranda was standing right there beside him.

_What a lovely smell as well..._

Satisfied that Oriana was maintaining proper form, Miranda smiled at Charles, who just grinned stupidly, and stepped out of the blue bubble that was starting to materialize around her little sister and her classmate.

Soon after, the rest of the class were flinging spheres at the bubble with all their might, but like with Rodriguez, not a single sphere made it through.

"Well done, Ori, I am so proud of you!" Miranda squealed, as she hugged Oriana.

Oriana smiled, but gently pushed Miranda away. "Easy Miri, you're embarrassing me."

Miranda looked around and saw that all the students and Jack were staring at her. She slowly let go of Oriana, and reapplied the cold and calculative demeanor she had become known for at Cerberus.

"Good work today, everybody!", Jack said, after she had led her students back to their classroom.

She allowed them to go, but kept Oriana, Miranda and, for some reason, Charles in the classroom.

"Magnus," Jack started, "you are relatively new here too, so I think it would be a good idea if you take care of Oriana for the first couple of days."

"T-take care of her?" Charles stuttered, trying to remove some dirty thoughts that had crept into his head.

"Yeah," Jack continued, "You know. Show her around, tell her about the school. That kind of shit!"

Charles nodded. "Of course."

"You, more than anyone, knows what it's like to be new here, so it should be easy for you to relate to Oriana's situation."

"Yes, Ma'am."

Miranda smiled at him. "Splendid. I am sure that will benefit Oriana."

She checked the time, "Oh, I have a shuttle to catch. I better hurry."

Jack and Charles left the room, to allow the sisters to say farewell to each other under four eyes.

"I have a meeting with Sanders," Jack said and walked a few doors down the hall before turning into the head director's office.

Left standing alone in an empty corridor, Charles started to think about what he should tell Oriana about the station. He had no idea.

A few minutes later, the door to their classroom opened and Miranda stepped out, followed closely by Oriana. Charles could tell, that they had both been crying, but he kept a neutral face.

"You be nice to her, Mr. Magnus!" Miranda said, her voice slightly hoarse from the crying.

He nodded. "Absolutely."

Miranda and Oriana gave each other another hug, before Miranda kissed her forehead, turned on her heel and walked away without a second look back.

Oriana sobbed lightly, but didn't say anything. For a long time, she and Charles just stood there.

Charles had no idea what to say, and he was so scared to do or say the wrong things, that he refrained from doing anything at all. He wanted to place a comforting hand on Oriana's shoulder. He wanted to tell her something, but he didn't know what.

Eventually, Oriana came to her senses by herself. She dragged the back of her hand across her face, wiping away the salty tears on her cheeks. Her wonderful smile was back on her face, when she turned to Charles.

"Charles, was it?"

He nodded, "Charles Magnus".

"Oriana Lawson," she said, shaking his hand. "So, Charles, will you give me a tour of the station?"

"Certainly. Follow me."

First, Charles showed her Orion Hall.

"Wow, this room is huge," Oriana said and whistled through her teeth, clearly overwhelmed by the size of Orion Hall.

"Yeah, it's insane," Charles agreed, "we have all our meals here."

As they weaved in and out between the tables in the hall, many people stared at them. Charles knew that most students on the station were pretty aware of who was in the Ascension Project, so when they suddenly saw a new girl in the red uniform, it was natural for them to pay attention. Not to mention the fact that Oriana was incredibly beautiful, which certainly earned her a few extra looks.

"Why is everybody staring like that?" Oriana asked, sounding slightly discomforted.

For a second, Charles was just about to tell her why he thought they were staring.

_Because you are hot as hell!_

But he stuck to the other reason. "Ascension Project students get a lot of attention. Some is good, some is bad," he explained, "most of them probably just don't recognize you. That's why they're staring."

"Ah! I see!"

They walked in silence for a bit. Charles was trying hard not to smirk too much. He was given some very jealous looks from most of the other male students. It would seem that many others would have loved to be Oriana's tour guide.

"Why didn't you get to practice your barrier today, Charles?" Oriana suddenly asked.

Charles stopped and could feel his face turning red. "It's... It's a bit embarrassing."

"I am sorry. If you don't want to talk about it..."

"No! No, it's fine."

He breathed a deep sigh. "My biotic powers haven't manifested themselves yet. It's been a few months since I had my implants, but I've only been able to use my powers once. Accidentally..."

"Hang on," she said, "a few months ago? That's very late!"

"I know," Charles sighed, "my situation is unique, and nobody knows when, or if, my biotics will develop."

She looked thoughtful for a moment. "Interesting. I understand why it bothers you, but you shouldn't be embarrassed. As long as you are trying hard, there's nothing to be ashamed of."

"Thank you, Oriana," he said and smiled, "let's talk about you for a minute."

She gave out a soft laugh, "what would you like to know?"

"Where are you from?"

"Illium. But recently, I've been running all over the galaxy," she said, her smile fading a bit.

"May I ask why?" Charles cautiously asked, not wanting to upset Oriana.

"It's a long story..."

"It's a big station," Charles answered with a wry smile, as they entered an elevator.

-X-X-X-

"Wow! That's some background!" Charles said, when Oriana had told him everything she knew about her own design and creation.

They were now walking up and down the hallways of the station. They had no destination, and both of them had lost all sense of direction. Charles had completely abandoned his tour duty in favor of Oriana's story.

"So you and Miranda are actually twins?" he asked, trying to wrap his head around the information he had been given.

She smiled. "Yes. We share the exact same genes. Perfect genes."

"Perfect?" he asked skeptically, "that's... Modest."

She laughed softly. "I know. It sounds horrible, but it is a scientific fact."

"I see," Charles said, "so you will be just like your sister?"

She shook her head. "Not exactly. Between my father and Cerberus, Miri has received an incredible amount of training and education. I have the same genetic potential, but it is unlikely that I will ever learn all that she knows."

"That makes sense," Charles said, "Jealous?"

"Not at all," Oriana said dismissively, "I don't envy Miranda for her time spent with my father nor with the Illusive Man. I would like to make my own discoveries, you know. Learn my own lessons in life."

He nodded, thinking that he knew what she meant.

"I'm happy to know that I will look as good as her when I'm in my mid-thirties, though," she stated smilingly.

Charles tried to maintain a neutral face, and decided not to make any comments.

Almost by accident, they finally wound up in front of Oriana's personal room.

"Thank you Charles, for giving me the tour... And for listening to me babbling," she said, sending him one of those wonderful smiles.

"You're welcome," he grinned stupidly, "though it wasn't much of a tour."

"It was wonderful. I really like it here."

"I'm glad," he said, rubbing his neck, "let me know if there is anything else you need."

"I will. See you tomorrow, Charles."

Charles felt like a happy, silly kid skipping down the hallways, as he moved back towards his own room. Here was this incredibly beautiful and intelligent girl, and he had been able to have a conversation with her for several hours without making a complete fool of himself.

What was it he was feeling?

Love?

No. But maybe it could develop into that.

Confidence?

This was definitely a new feeling for him. And boy, did he like it.


	13. Surprises

Chapter Thirteen - Surprises

"You lucky son of a bitch!" Prangley shouted.

"I can't believe you got to be her guide!" Reiley added.

"You get lost on this station every single day. How come I didn't get that job?" Kurt hissed jealously.

"Guys, take it easy," Charles defended, taking a step back from his upset friends, "it's not like anything happened. We just walked around the station."

"Still," Kurt continued, taking a step to close the difference between them, "so unfair!"

"Hang on!" Charles laughed, "I thought, you had a girlfriend back on Terra Nova?"

"True! But I can still appreciate a nice view!"

Charles laughed, and slapped his shoulder amicably. "And you can enjoy that view today in class."

At that moment, the girl they were talking about stepped into the gym along with Vera, Seanne and Jack.

"Good morning," she said, smiling smolderingly at the four boys.

"Morning," they all replied in perfect harmony.

"Jeez," Vera hissed, as she took position between Charles and Kurt, "I thought, now that Miranda had left, that you guys would be back to normal."

"What do you mean?" Kurt grinned, "we've always been pervy and sultry."

"Speak for yourself," Charles hissed and elbowed him in the side.

"Alright," Kurt admitted, rubbing his ribs. "I'm pervy and sultry. Magnus here is just the luckiest bastard alive."

Vera looked back and forth between them, trying to figure out what they were talking about.

Picking up on her confusion, Kurt explained. "Charles was 'tasked' with showing Oriana the station yesterday, and he talks about it like it was nothing."

Charles shrugged. "It really was nothing... Not saying I didn't enjoy it though," he finished with a smirk.

"Perv!" Vera scolded.

"Lucky bastard!" Kurt repeated.

Impatiently, Jack grabbed Charles by the collar of his uniform and shoved him in between the Bellarmine twins. "My lesson starts now, and if you guys can't stand next to each other without yapping like little girls, I'm gonna have to separate you."

"Sorry, Ma'am." Charles muttered, slightly surprised by the amount of physical strength displayed by the petite woman. He was a big guy, and she barely reached his chin, but she threw him around like a ragdoll.

Kurt, Vera and Prangley snickered, but Jack quickly put an end to that by grabbing Kurt in the same rough manner and placing him between Oriana and Seanne.

"Are we done?" she hissed and spun around herself to see if anyone else in the circle felt like making jokes and not listening. Satisfied that she had everybody's full attention, she started her lesson.

"Magnus, what did I tell you in week one?" she asked, "About using biotic powers offensively."

Charles searched his memory for a second. "You told us that we should take out our enemies from a distance."

"Correct," Jack stated seriously, "but if that fails, you need to learn how to kill an opponent who comes too close. Quickly and efficiently."

"Are we going to learn martial arts?" Kurt excitedly asked, his eyes sparkling with glee.

Jack snorted mockingly. "Not exactly, Nielsen. Though I am sure, those of you who go on to join the Alliance military will learn marine hand-to-hand combat."

"Then what?" Prangley asked impatiently.

Jack stepped over to a large punch bag hung from the ceiling. The students followed, forming a semicircle in front of her.

"I am going to teach you how to apply biotic powers to your punches and kicks," Jack explained, leaning lazily against the punch bag.

"Let me give you a demonstration," she said, turned around and punched the bag as hard as she could.

Almost nothing happened to the huge and heavy bag. Charles wasn't surprised at all. The punch bags in their gym were insanely heavy, and Jack's physique wasn't exactly that of a body builder.

"That's my best punch without biotics," Jack said, not embarrassed at all by the lack of reaction from the students. Apparently, like Charles, none of them had expected their instructor to be able to cause the bag any harm.

Jack pointed at Prangley, "Big guy! You're up!"

Prangley silently stepped out of the semicircle and took place in front of the punch bag.

"Hit it!" Jack ordered.

Prangley shook his shoulders and rotated his wrist a couple of times, before punching the bag with a groan.

Clearly, there was a lot more power behind his punch, than there had been in Jack's. When his fist made contact with the heavy bag, it let out a dull thud and started to swing noticeably back and forth.

"Wow," Jack said, holding her hands theatrically over her chest, "aren't you big and scary?"

The other students giggled, while Prangley looked slightly annoyed.

"Silence!" Jack shouted, immediately quieting her students. She turned to Prangley again. "Okay. Now try to focus all your biotic energy into your fist just as you hit the bag."

Prangley closed his eyes and concentrated for a second. His fist started to emit a blue light, which grew brighter and brighter until he suddenly unleashed all his energy into a thundering blow to the punch bag, sending it swinging violently from its chain. A rupture had appeared in the fabric of the bag, and white sand was now slowly pouring out onto the gym floor.

Victoriously, Prangley turned to his classmates with a large smile on his face, before staring down at his right hand in disbelief. Very impressed by his show of power, they all gave him a wholehearted round of applause.

"You see the difference?" Jack asked unnecessarily, as the students were all still cheering and clapping.

"Good," she said, "as you can see, biotics can really increase the amount of pain you can inflict."

They nodded, as Prangley resumed his position between Vera and Reiley, still holding his hand out in front of his eyes.

"This is why," Jack continued, while drawing a circle in the sand on the floor with the toe of her boot, "as biotics, you will probably never lose a fist fight to a normal person."

"So physical strength is rendered useless?" Kurt asked and sent Prangley, the class gym rat, a cheeky smile.

"Not at all," Jack replied, "physical strength still hurts. A practiced biotic just has the ability to take it to the next level."

She took two long steps over to the punch bag, which was still rocking back and forth, slowly loosing sand from the hole in its side. "I'll give you an example."

What happened next, happened so fast that Charles was hardly able to perceive it. Jack had started to produce an intimidating glow from her fist, pulled back her arm and unleashed her rage on the already damaged punch bag with a beastly roar.

The chain, from which the punch bag was hanging from the ceiling, immediately snapped, causing the bag to fly straight across the gym and into the opposite wall where it exploded on impact, spreading the rest of its sand contents all over the place.

"Holy crap!" Charles muttered, "What the fuck just happened?"

"I... I-I don't know." Kurt stuttered, brushing some sand of his uniform. "The chains... They just... They just snapped!"

"See?" Jack said, smiling triumphantly. "If that had been a real enemy, he would have been proper fucked!"

She still panted lightly from her exertion, when she put them to work. "Now, go try it out for yourself."

The students spread out to the rest of the punch bags in the gym, and started to limber up and focus their minds, preparing for the task ahead.

After a few minutes of preparation, Charles optimistically stepped up to his own bag, sincerely hoping that this would be the day.

_Damn you, Biotics! Come on!_

Knowing that getting angry probably wouldn't improve his chances of controlling his nervous system, he took a few deep breaths and tried to focus hard on his right fist. After almost five minutes of staring intently at his hand, he saw a little flicker of blue light between two fingers.

At this point, his eyes had been open, focused on his hand, for so long, that he wasn't sure if he was hallucinating or if there had really been something. A second later, a blue aura appeared around his entire right hand, but it vanished just as suddenly as it had shown up.

Trying to remain focused, he punched the bag as hard as he could, but there was no significant difference from when he punched it normally. Disappointed he let his head drop forward until his forehead rested on the enormous punch bag. Just as he thought he might have made a breakthrough, once again, he needed to take a back row seat in class, while the rest of his classmates were able to practice their skills.

Though he felt socially very comfortable with all his new friend, it was obvious that, with all the things they were learning, he was further and further behind everyone else regarding biotic skill. It was one thing learning the theories, but not being able to practice for so long... That had to become a problem when his powers eventually decided to show themselves... If they ever showed themselves...

Suddenly, while Charles was completely consumed by his depressing thoughts, there was a loud thud from the punch bag next to him, where Kurt was practicing his biotic punch. Charles lifted his head, and saw that his blond friend had managed to punch a hole in his bag, and that white sand was now leaking from it.

Pushing his own misery aside, he walked over to congratulate his friend, who looked truly surprised by his own power.

Charles peeked over at Oriana, who was still doing some stretches. Watching her limber up was quite satisfactory, so he kept his attention on her for a while. Moments later, Oriana stepped up to her punch bag, clenched her fist, and jabbed at the bag. With a bright blue flash, the bag was ripped right out of the ceiling and flew toward Seanne's head with menacing speed. Just in time, Oriana waved her hand in an upward motion, causing the rogue punch bag to stop in midair before dropping to the ground with a resonating thud. Everybody in the gym froze in place, and suddenly it was as quiet as empty space.

"What the fuck was that!?" Jack roared, sounding both angry, impressed and surprised at the same time.

She stomped up to Oriana and glared at her with a questioning look on her face.

"Sorry ma'am," Oriana said meekly, "I shouldn't have done it while Seanne was standing there."

Jack shook her head. "Never mind that! How did you punch it that hard? Not to mention the way you stopped that big ass bag! What the hell is going on here?"

Oriana shrugged. "Miranda and I are genetic twins. It would seem that biotic talent is part of the package. You know, perfect genes... Plus, Miranda taught me a few things before we came here."

Jack nodded, and gave out an impressed whistle. "Well done, Cheerleader!"

Oriana let out a soft laugh. "She told me, that you might refer to her as 'bitch' or 'cheerleader'."

Jack snorted, but smiled. "Let's just say 'cheerleader'. For now."

Charles was listening to their conversation, unable to hide his jealousy of Oriana's talent. He didn't notice Kurt and Prangley moving up on either side of him.

"Genetically twins, huh?" Kurt whispered.

Charles nodded, but didn't tell the others just how much he actually knew about Oriana's background.

"Perfect genes..." Prangley drawled. "You can say that again! Think about her sister. Oriana is going to be just as smoking hot!"

The other two nodded slowly.

"Don't get me wrong," Prangley added through his teeth, "she is mighty fine now, but... Damn!"

As they returned to their practice, it took some time for all three of them to concentrate again. But evidently, they managed, because after another half hour Kurt had punched several more holes in his punch bag, and Prangley had been able to send his flying across the room, almost as violently as Jack had done earlier. Sadly, Charles was still without any real progress. All he had managed to do was to bruise up his knuckles by taking his anger and frustration out on the heavy punch bag the old-fashioned way.

-X-X-X-

"Fun class," Prangley said, as he rubbed shampoo into his short hair.

Kurt laughed as he stepped under his own shower. "Glad you got to punch something, big guy?"

Charles giggled. "I'm just glad Jack called in the maintenance mechs. It would have sucked to clean up all that sand ourselves. Not that I would have helped. I didn't cause any of that mess."

"Still can't believe that Oriana shares the exact same genes with her sister," Kurt said with an excited expression on his face.

"Why would she lie about it," Charles shrugged, "they do look a lot like each other, except for the hair. If they were the same age, I am sure we wouldn't be able to tell them apart."

"Can we talk about something else?" Prangley interrupted through gritted teeth. "If you keep talking about the Lawson sisters, I am going to be thinking about them. And it would be really awkward for me to get a hard-on here in the showers!"

Kurt, Charles and Reiley laughed at first, but quickly agreed to change the subject. They all got the same tingling feeling when images of the beautiful sisters appeared in their minds, and none of them were interested in showing any signs of arousal in the common showers.

They washed in silence for a minute before Prangley spoke again. "I really did like our class today. I can't wait to be a soldier. I just want to fight," he said seriously.

"Yeah, me too," Reiley agreed. "You two still undecided?" He gestured between Kurt and Charles.

"yes," Kurt started, "and it's not like there's a lot of fighting going on out there right now anyway."

Prangley and Reiley both raised their eyebrows, motioning for Kurt to elaborate.

"I just mean," Kurt continued, "Shepard took out the collectors, and though I believe the reapers are a real threat, it's not like they're attacking us right now."

"That may be true," Prangley retorted, indignantly crossing his arms, "but, if the threat is real. Now would be the time to prepare. Not when the reapers are already on our doorstep."

Kurt and Charles fell silent for a minute, and contemplated the meaning of his words.

"You know what, Prangley, that was actually well said," Kurt said, unable to hide his surprise at taking wisdom from Jason Prangley. "I'll have to think about that."

"And you?" Reiley said, looking at Charles.

"Still don't know," Charles said mysteriously. "Can't say that I am not tempted by serving in the Alliance, but it's not like I'm signing up for Alenko's biotic squad in my current... condition."

The others nodded understandingly and, thankfully, didn't press the issue.

As they were toweling themselves dry, suddenly the door to the bathroom was slammed open.

"For fuck's sake Rodriguez!" Reiley cried, quickly covering himself up with his towel. "You can't be in here!"

"Rodriguez! You dirty girl," Prangley said with a smirk and teasingly let his towel slip a little. "Couldn't keep away, could you?"

"Whoa! Sorry boys!" She said, blushing a bit. "Prangley! Put that away! I'm here to tell you, that Sanders wants to talk to all of us in the classroom."

Quickly, she turned around and rushed towards the door.

"Hang on!" Kurt called out, causing Vera to stop and turn around again.

"Yes?"

"you're a girl!"

"yes? Where are you going with this?"

"Girls are always much slower than boys with taking showers, and all the other stuff you guys do," Kurt stated confidently. "How come you are in here, fully uniformed, while we have only just stepped out of the showers?"

"Let's just say," Vera explained patiently, "that having Jack with us, has severely cut down the amount of chatting and gossiping that goes on in the girls' bathroom."

"What!" Prangley shouted, "Jack is showering with you?"

Vera shrugged. "Sometimes."

"Why would she do that? I heard that the instructors have bathtubs in their rooms!"

"How the hell would I know?" Vera asked, clearly anxious to get out of the boys' bathroom. "We think she might secretly enjoy the gossip, which is too bad, because it dies right down every time she's in there. Can I go now?"

"Hang on!" Prangley continued with a sultry grin. "What can you tell us about her tattoos? Any private ones?"

Vera didn't even dignify him with an answer, she just snorted, turned around and paced out of the bathroom without looking back.

"You better hope she doesn't tell Jack, that you asked that!" Kurt grinned.

"She wouldn't!" Prangley said, but suddenly he didn't seem so sure.

"What do you think would happen, if one of us walked into the girls' bathroom like that?" Kurt asked.

"Sanders would kill you!" Reiley stated grimly.

"If Jack was in there," Prangley said thoughtfully, "you might not live to even see anything in there."

"I'm not so sure about that," Kurt said with a straight face, "look at the way she dresses. She may not care if people see her naked."

"Well," Charles muttered, "I'm not going to be the one testing that theory!"

They all laughed, the image of a punch bag exploding against the gym wall still fresh in their memories.

"Seanne would freak out!" Reiley said, shaking his head as to remove the thought of walking in on his naked twin sister. "If any of us ever waltzed in there, like Rodriguez just did in here."

Charles pulled on his uniform pants. "What do you think, Sanders wants to talk to us about?"

"No idea," Kurt answered as he donned his boots, "best hurry though!"

-X-X-X-

"Have a seat boys," Sanders said, as Charles, Reiley, Kurt and Prangley entered the classroom. "Prangley, that uniform needs to be washed before the end of this week!"

The boys nodded and sat down at the four empty desk.

"Don't look so smug, Nielsen," Sanders rebuked, looking at Kurt's uniform, "that goes for you too."

Kurt's smile immediately disappeared from his face, and he meekly bowed his head and kept his eyes focused on the desk.

"I have a surprise for all of you!" Sanders happily said, now sounding very differently than just before.

Kurt turned his attention back to their head director along with the rest of the class.

"What? What is it?" Vera impatiently asked after a long, silent pause.

"A party!" Sanders laughed, clearly enjoying the suspense she had created. "A big one! Next weekend!"

"Yes!" Prangley and Kurt shouted simultaneously and high-fived each other over Vera's head.

General whooping and cheering broke out into the classroom, before Prangley held out his arms to quiet them down.

"A party... With drinks?" he asked expectantly, when the rest had calmed down.

"Yes," Lieutenant Sanders smiled, "it will be students over eighteen only, so yes, you will be allowed to drink alcohol."

"Yes!" Kurt roared again, clenching his fist victoriously.

"Easy now!" Sanders called out, trying to get the excited classroom back under control. "Do not do anything to embarrass me! I do not want to hear anything about the Ascension Project students starting fights! Not again!"

"That guy was asking for it!" Prangley shouted defensively. "He was discriminating against Seanne for being a biotic!"

"That might be the case," Sanders calmly replied, "and I believe that he was appropriately punished by his head director. Your head director however, is me, and I can promise you, that if you do not behave, you will never be allowed to go to another party on this station. I will not tolerate that kind of behavior! I don't care how provoked you feel!"

There was a long and very uncomfortable silence. The celebration had definitely cooled down.

Sanders breathed a deep sigh. "However, I don't want you to think that you can't have fun. Please, have a few drinks and loosen up. And for all I care, you can dance until your legs fall off."

"Finally," Kurt whispered to Charles. "I have been waiting to become old enough for the grown-up parties ever since I first came here!"

"Parties with alcohol you mean?" Charles said with a smile.

"Yes! It's gonna be awesome! It has really sucked not being able to join the fun parties while we were in basics class."

Seanne, Vera and Oriana had, not surprisingly, immediately started a conversation as to what clothes they would be wearing for the party.

Sanders cleared her throat to get their attention again. "I have one more surprise."

Again, the classroom became quiet and everybody listened closely to their head director.

"I have pulled a few strings with management," she said proudly, "and they have allowed me to arrange for all of us to go to Illyria on Elysium. Down there you can buy anything you need."

She looked accusatorily at Prangley and Kurt. "Anything that is legal on this station, that is!"

With that warning, she turned around, nodded to Jack, who had been standing in the corner looking very bored, and left the classroom. Their instructor pushed away from the wall she had been leaning against, and left the classroom too, without as much as a glance to her students.

Oriana turned to Seanne and Vera. "Are there dress codes for these parties?"

"No," Vera said, "but it's usually pretty fancy."

"I will need to buy a new dress in Illyria then," Oriana stated with a smile. "I didn't bring any nice clothes."

"Honey, you won't be alone," Vera giggled, "there's no way I'm passing up an excuse to buy a new dress!"

"Me neither," Seanne laughed.

Kurt rolled his eyes. "Girls..."

Charles laughed, but knew, that he too would have to buy new clothes.


	14. Elysium

Chapter Fourteen - Elysium

The shuttle shook lightly as they entered Elysium's atmosphere, and Charles, who was still very new to space flight, grabbed his safety harness and held on for dear life. Prangley looked at him with a big smile, clearly finding his obvious anxiety either amusing or pathetic. Maybe both.

All the other students also appeared extremely relaxed compared to him. The girls were chatting and preparing their imminent shopping spree, while the other boys were in a heated discussion about their latest pistol shootout with the engineering department. This time, they had managed to scrape a narrow victory, not in small part thanks to the addition of Oriana to their squad. She had surprised everyone by also being a formidable marksman.

_Gotta love them perfect genes._

Jack was sitting in the corner of the shuttle, looking very bored, but Charles could tell that she was paying a bit of attention to the conversation going on between Kurt, Prangley and Reiley. Maybe she was interested in hearing their opinions on how the victory had been secured, or maybe she was just not remotely interested in hearing Seanne, Vera and Orianna cackling about dresses and makeup.

Lieutenant Sanders, who was sitting next to Jack, was reading something on her datapad. Her blue eyes were so focused on the datapad in front of her, that she appeared not to even realize that she was in a shuttle zooming through the atmosphere of Elysium.

"What are you reading, Lieutenant?" Vera asked, "If I may?"

"Of course, Rodriguez," Sanders answered with a polite smile, "these are the results of our latest scans of your amps. Everything is in perfect order, it seems."

She looked up from her datapad, and shot Charles a quick look before turning her attention back to the test results.

They had discussed his test results in her office that morning, and according to her, all of his test results had been within normal range or even better. She had no explanation as to why his biotics still wouldn't serve his will, but urged him not to lose patience and continue his discipline and work ethic in class.

That, of course, was easy for her to say. She was not the one who had to endure lesson after lesson without being able actively participate. He was getting tired of being used as an object in his classmates training. At times it was fun to be lifted into the air, flipped upside down and thrown across the gym. Hell, sometimes it wasn't even half bad to play target as his classmates tried to nail him with spheres. At least the people whose barriers were supposed to be protecting him were getting better at it. However, he still wanted nothing more than being able to control his powers, so he finally could feel like a real member of the group he spent all his time with.

"Oriana?" Kurt called, bringing Charles' attention back to the shuttle and rescuing him from his miserable thoughts.

"Yes?" she said, turning to face the class clown.

"Perfect genes. What's that like?" He bluntly asked, earning a disapproving glare from both Sanders and Rodriguez.

Oriana just giggled. "What do you mean exactly?"

Kurt looked deep in thought for a moment. "I mean... What are your plans, you know? For the future. What do you do for a living, when you are the perfect human being?"

"I haven't really thought about that," Oriana shrugged.

"So you might join the Alliance military like most of us?" Vera suggested.

"Perhaps. I could probably become at least decent at anything I should choose to do," Oriana answered matter-of-factly.

At this, Jack rolled her eyes. "Just like her sister," she muttered.

Oriana turned to her and smiled. "Miranda and I share the same genes. It is only natural that we share the same thoughts about it too. I am only stating facts, I'm not trying to be cocky."

"What exactly did Miranda do for the Illusive Man?" Reiley jokingly asked, "maybe you could follow in her footsteps?"

"Hah," Oriana snorted, "I would never join Cerberus, and for the record, Miri has cut all ties with the Illusive Man as well."

Jack let out a snort of her own. "If she is as smart as she claims, she should have done that years ago," she said bitterly.

"But," Oriana continued, ignoring Jack's comment, "when she did work for Cerberus, she had to use all her scientific expertise, biotic talent and marksmanship in her job as project director. She does not talk to me about everything she had done for Cerberus, but I know that she was responsible for bringing Commander Shepard back from the dead."

"Sure! _That_ project she talks about, and turns a blind eye to all the creepy shit," Jack muttered, but she was drowned out by the excitation in the shuttle.

"She brought Shepard back?" Vera asked in disbelief.

Oriana nodded, and slightly surprisingly, so did Jack, which immediately assured them all that Miranda had in fact been the one who brought back the first human spectre, and, by proxy, was the one responsible for the defeat of the collectors.

"What other perks are there to this whole perfect genes deal?" Prangley asked curiously.

"Besides the things I've already told you about, I hardly ever get sick, heal quicker than normal and if we are not all killed by the reapers, I will probably live much longer than the average human," Oriana said in her cultivated voice.

_"Touchdown in Illyria in approximately five minutes, Lieutenant Sanders," _The Alliance pilot called out over the shuttle's intercom.

The anticipation grew a bit more in the shuttle. Everybody was looking forward to some time with firm ground beneath their feet and fresh air in their lungs. Grissom Academy was a top modern space station, and life there was nothing to complain about, but, from time to time, it was nice to set foot on an actual planet. For most of the other students, it had been a long time since they had been outside the station, and they had been looking forward to this ever since Sanders had told them about their little 'field trip'.

"Attention please," Sanders said seriously. "When we land in Illyria, you will be free to roam the Agora district, but there are a few ground rules. Most importantly, under no circumstances are you allowed to leave the district! There are over two thousand shops in Agora, so there's no reason for you to go anywhere else!"

She looked around to see that everybody understood this, her gaze lingering slightly longer with Kurt and Prangley. Both nodded and smiled innocently.

"Also, you should not walk around alone at any time," she continued rigorously, but then smiled. "Other than that, exercise common sense, have fun and make sure to be back at the shuttle at least thirty minutes before takeoff."

Soon after, Charles felt a little lurch, signifying that the shuttle had made contact with the ground. His safety harness automatically released its hold on him, as the door opened and allowed him to step out onto Elysium.

"It's snowing," he observed, stating the obvious.

"I'll say," Kurt said before jumping out of the shuttle and into the deep layer of white powder on the ground.

"Let's do this," Prangley said as he and Reiley exited the shuttle. "I know an asari strip club we can go to."

"Prangley!" Sanders voice boomed from inside the shuttle. "One more rule: No strip clubs!"

"Damn it!" Prangley muttered and put his hands in his pockets to protect them from the cold. "Coffee then?" He shouted back over his own shoulder.

"Coffee is fine," Sanders said and stuck her head out the door. "Unless 'coffee' is a codename for some fancy new drug, that you kids are doing."

Prangley shrugged and smiled mysteriously, causing their head director to frown, before he turned around and put an arm around Charles' shoulder.

"We'll just walk past the strip club a couple of times," he whispered in his ear, when they were out of earshot from the shuttle. "Sometimes the doors are open, so you can take a peek without entering."

-X-X-X-

"Want to join me for a cup of coffee?" Sanders asked when all students had wandered off to explore the Agora district. "The regular kind. I know a nice place."

Jack shrugged. "I guess," she muttered.

Jumping out of the shuttle, she was blinded a bit by the amount of white. There was a thick layer of snow on the ground, and the air was alive with flakes gracefully soaring down from above. Had she been a different person, she would probably have commented on the beauty of the scenery. Instead, she huffed and brushed some snow out of her hair.

"Lead the way," she said, gesturing for Sanders to take point.

"Aren't you cold?" Sanders asked, as they started walking. She straightened the collar of her own alliance officer's jacket.

"Nope."

"Really?" She said, eyeing Jack's heavily modified and somewhat revealing instructor's uniform.

"Nope," Jack lied again.

Thankfully, Sanders didn't press the issue, and they walked into the main part of the Agora district in silence. Despite the weather conditions, the street was teeming with life. Almost all of them were human, but Jack also noticed an asari and two turians, as they made their way to the Aphrodite Cafe.

"Aphrodite?" Jack snorted. "wasn't she like the goddess of love?"

"Yes," Sanders answered, "ancient Greek mythology."

"Fucking hell, Sanders!" Jack exclaimed, "Is this supposed to be a date or what?"

Sanders laughed heartily. "Relax Jack, it's not that bad a place."

As they entered the cafe, Jack was immediately relieved by the much more pleasant temperatures inside.

_Well, at least we're out of the cold!_

Lawson, Rodriguez and Bellarmine waved at them from a table near the entrance, but Sanders opted for a booth near the back of the cafe. Jack curtly nodded at her three female students before following her boss in the opposite direction.

"Two large cups of Cytherea Coffee, please," Sanders ordered, when they had made themselves comfortable in their booth.

"Two large Cytherea Coffee," the waiter mech confirmed in its synthetic voice. "Coming up."

Lieutenant Sanders leaned back in her seat and started to sway slowly from side to side to the rhythm of the soft music that was playing in Aphrodite Cafe. "This is my favorite song," she said and closed her eyes, as she continued to sway to the music.

Jack didn't comment on that. She had never heard the song before. Not her style anyway.

Sanders wasn't released from her trance-like immersion into the music, until the mech returned with their coffee. "Two large Cytherea Coffee. Enjoy."

They both took a cautious sip of their hot beverage.

"It's good," Jack noted dryly.

"Hmmm," Sanders hummed in agreement, "Told you so."

"I get the feeling there's something you want to talk about," Jack said after a minute's silence.

"Um, not really," Sanders said, "Nothing in particular."

"Alright," Jack shrugged, "If you are looking to small talk, you should probably go join the girls." She nodded towards the entrance where Rodriguez, Lawson and Bellarmine were still sitting, deep in conversation. "Not really my thing."

"I understand," Sanders said and took another sip of her coffee. "I just want to make sure that you like your new job?"

Jack shrugged again. "It's a job."

"Is that really all?"

Jack paused for a minute. "No," she whispered but didn't elaborate.

Sanders broke out into a huge smile. "I knew it."

There was another long pause where none of them said anything. Jack simply stared into her half empty coffee cup, while Sanders was drumming her fingers on the table to the rhythm of another soft song before taking another sip of her coffee. Her cup was half full.

"Going to the party?" she suddenly asked, as if trying to catch Jack off guard.

"I don't think so."

"You should," Sanders said, folding her fingers underneath her chin. "It's fun."

Jack shrugged. "I might pop down for a beer or two. I assume I'm allowed to drink as well?"

"Of course."

"Hmm... That certainly helps."

"Brilliant," Sanders said and smiled deviously, "you'll need a dress!"

"Hell no!"

"Jack..."

"I'm not going then!" Jack shouted, causing the young couple in the booth next to theirs to send her angry looks.

Jack deterred them from making any further comments, by leveling a murderous glare at them, while Sanders apologized for the disturbance.

"Come on, Jack," she whispered, when things had calmed back down. "You will look so lovely in a dress."

"No way," Jack dismissed, doing her best to keep her voice as muted as possible.

"Please, for me?" Sanders begged.

"You are going then?" Jack asked.

"Yes."

"In a dress?"

"Yes."

"Hah," Jack laughed. "I'd like to see that!"

"Hey," Sanders interrupted and pointed a finger at her. "I look good in a dress."

Jack looked at the older, but very attractive woman across from her. "I bet."

"So will you," Sanders stated, "I'm buying you a dress!"

Jack breathed a deep sigh. "Okay! Okay! I'll go to the party! But I'll pay for my own dress!" She said the word 'dress' with disgust.

"Fantastic!" Sanders cheered. "If you want, I can come with you, but if you are looking for someone with a bit more expertise, you could ask Rodriguez. I am sure she would be delighted to help you pick out a dress."

"Fuck no. You'll have to do."

"I thought as much," Sanders giggled and finished the last of her coffee. "Seems like I managed to get a little small talk out of you after all."

Jack finished her cup as well, and got out of the booth.

_I've just had coffee at Aphrodite Cafe! And now I'm going to buy a dress, so I can go to a party at the school where I work! What the fuck!?_

-X-X-X-

"How may I help you?" a weird looking amphibian creature asked them, as they approached the bar.

"Four beers, please," Prangley said.

The alien bartender gave them their beers and received their payment.

"Are you sure about this?" Charles asked as they gathered around a table with their beers. "I'm not sure we're supposed to be drinking alcohol."

Prangley shrugged. "Sanders didn't mention it."

Prangley, Kurt and Reiley banged their bottles together over the table. "Cheers!"

Charles didn't want to be left out, so he quickly followed suit. "Cheers."

He took a large sip of his beer. The taste was very bitter and the beer wasn't even cold.

Kurt noticed his surprised expression and laughed. "I know. They make some crazy beer here. They serve it at room temperatures too."

"It's... Different," Charles said before trying one more taste.

The amphibian bartender had started to walk around the bar, clearing tables and repositioning chairs.

"Is that a salarian?" he asked curiously.

"Yes?" Kurt said, "haven't you ever seen... Oh no! You haven't seen one before."

Charles shook his head. "Never seen any aliens. Only in vids." He dared one more look at the bartender. "This is kinda weird actually."

The three others laughed. "You'll get used to it," Prangley assured and downed his beer, "Well, I'm going to Club Deimos to look at women, who's with me?"

"I'll go," Reiley said, finished his beer and got off his chair.

"I have to go shopping," Charles said.

Kurt shrugged and smiled. "Then I guess I have no choice. Can't let you go shopping alone. Sanders would kill me."

"Suit yourself," Prangley said, turned around and left the bar with Reiley in his heal.

Kurt finished his beer with a disgusted look on his face. "It's horrible! How Prangley can drink this shit is beyond me."

Charles agreed, but emptied his own bottle all the same.

"Ready for prom?" Kurt asked.

"Prom?" Charles confusedly asked.

"Some old word," Kurt explained, "I think it just means 'school party' or something like that. The academy likes to use it. You know. Tradition."

"Ah, I see. No, I'm not ready for prom," Charles said, "I'm going to need to buy some fancy clothes."

Kurt smiled and started to walk towards the exit. "Well, come on then."

They stepped back out into the street. It was still snowing, but the Agora district seemed even busier than before. Kurt led him through the crowds into a large open square, where some politician called Saracino was rallying a small crowd.

Kurt pointed to a movie commercial. "Seen the Blasto vids?"

Charles shook his head in the negative. "Blasto?"

"It's about a hanar spectre. They're not great vids, but sort of funny," Kurt explained.

"Hanar?" Charles asked curiously. "the pink jellyfish?"

"Exactly!" Kurt laughed, "that's the fun part."

"Sounds stupid," Charles giggled.

"It is," Kurt assured, "the newest vid is called 'Blasto - The Hanar Who Loved Me'.

Charles snorted and laughed when he saw the Blasto commercial change into an ad for Tupari sports drink.

_'Tupari - Keeping Blasto In Shape'_

"Who are you taking to prom?" Kurt asked, as they stepped into a men's apparel shop.

"Taking?"

"You know. Like a date."

"I have to bring a date?"

Kurt shrugged. "You don't have to. But that's how it usually works."

Charles sighed. "This prom thing is turning out to be a pain in the ass," he muttered. "Who's you're date then? Vera?"

"It was," Kurt answered. "But the twins begged us to go with them, so they wouldn't have to take each other."

"I see."

"Yeah. So now I'm taking Seanne, and Vera is going with Reiley."

"And prangley?" Charles asked curiously.

"He's going with Sophia from combat engineering," Kurt said offhandedly, as he started to browse the selection of t-shirts.

Charles took a look at the t-shirts himself. Many of them had motivational slogans or funny pictures on them. Some of them had pictures of various celebrities like Commander Shepard, Blasto or the famous asari consort of the citadel.

"Hey!" Kurt interrupted and pushed him towards the more expensive part of the shop. "I thought you were here to buy a suit."

Almost immediately, Charles found a navy blue suit that he liked. He also found a tie in the same color and a white shirt, before going into one of the shop's fitting rooms. Putting on the clothes, he noticed how it was fitting him quite well. It looked somewhat similar to an alliance officer's uniform, which didn't bother him at all. He was still open to the idea of joining the Alliance military, and seeing how he looked in the blue colors often used by the Alliance, he was actually thinking about joining just so he could have a genuine uniform. He laughed to himself and stepped out of the fitting room.

"Whoa! That is... Posh!" Kurt said smilingly. "Looking good, Mr. Magnus."

Charles grinned. "Thank you, Mr. Nielsen."

"Why don't you ask Oriana to go with you to the prom?" Kurt asked, when they were back in the snowy street.

"Hah," Charles laughed and swung the bag containing his new suit at Kurt's head, "Good one! Like she would ever go with a guy like me."

"What do you mean?" Kurt asked, "A guy like you? I hate to have to say this again, but you look pretty damn good in that suit."

Charles shrugged. "Perhaps. But I've got no biotic powers, and she is perfect. Literally."

"Come on man!" Kurt shouted, sounding almost angry. He turned around, grabbed Charles' shoulders and held him in place. "Does that mean that Oriana could never date anyone, because she would have to find a dude who was also designed to be perfect?" he hissed while staring directly into Charles' eyes.

Charles sighed and let his head drop so he could avoid Kurt's glare. "I guess not. Okay, I'll ask her."

"You shouldn't do it for my sake," Kurt said and let go of his shoulders. "Do it if you want to."

"I know."

They continued down the street, but suddenly Kurt froze in place.

"Look," he said and pointed to an opening in the facade. "It's Sanders."

True enough, Charles immediately recognized Sanders as she stepped out into the street and put her hands in her pockets.

"That's a really expensive designer wear boutique she just came out of," Kurt giggled. "Think our dear head director is looking for some fancy new clothes as well?"

"Maybe," Charles snickered, "but she's not carrying anything, so she must not have found what she's looking for."

Just then, another woman stepped out of the shop with a large box under her arm. Both boys' jaws immediately dropped.

"Jack?" Kurt snorted.

"What the hell!" Charles said, rubbing his eyes.

"There's no way that she just bought whatever designer creation is in that box!" Kurt whispered.

Charles shook his head. "I agree. But it sure looks like she bought... something."

As the two women passed them, Sanders gave them a smile and a nod. "Boys."

Jack ignored them outright, but shifted the box under her arm.

Charles and Kurt were still frozen in place, and couldn't even muster the courtesy to greet their head director.

Suddenly, they were ripped back into reality by a snowball to the back of their heads.

"Charge!" Vera shouted as she, Oriana and Seanne came sprinting towards them with snowballs in their hands. "Don't let them get away!"

"Return fire!" Kurt laughed an bowed down to form a snowball.

Charles quickly placed his new suit on a nearby bench, dodging a snowball thrown by Seanne. He scooped up some snow, formed a ball and threw it at the advancing females, who scattered to avoid it.

"Help!" Kurt shouted, as the girls started to focus their attention on him.

Charles sprinted towards the three girls, ducking and rolling to avoid being hit. As he neared them, they all ran in different directions. He chose to follow Rodriguez, and managed to hit her back with a snowball before turning around to check on Kurt. However, Kurt had retreated to a nearby cafe, and was grinning at him from behind the safety of the glass window.

_What a coward!_

At least Kurt had had the decency to bring Charles' suit with him inside, but now he was alone against the three women.

"You're such a pussy!" he mouthed to Kurt, who just laughed even harder and sat down at a chair to watch how the fight would turn out.

Vera, Oriana and Seanne all smirked as they slowly cornered him. They all had a snowball in their hands.

"It seems you've been left alone Mr. Magnus," Vera taunted, "surrender?"

"Never!" Charles growled theatrically, and threw his last snowball at her, but she easily dodged it.

"Then you must suffer!" Seanne laughed maniacally.

At once, all three of them threw their snowballs. Charles had no chance of avoiding them, so he pathetically tried to protect his face with his hands and arms.

Just before he was hit, the three balls of snow impacted with a blue wall of light right in front of him, and they exploded all over the street. Charles spun around himself to see who had raised the barrier to protect him. He couldn't see Prangley or Reiley anywhere near him, and Kurt was still in the cafe.

"Hey!" Seanne called out, "No biotics! That's cheating!"

Charles gaped and stared at them. "I-I did that?"

Oriana nodded, and Vera was beaming at him.

Kurt stomped out of the cafe. "Was that on purpose?"

Charles shook his head. "I don't think so..."

"Try it again," Kurt said and formed a snowball with his hands. With no further warning he flung it at Charles' head.

Charles quickly concentrated and did like they had been taught to do, but nothing happened and he took the full force of the snowball to his temple.

He quickly shook off the pain and disorientation, but couldn't get rid of the feeling of disappointment. It had just been another case of accidental display of power. He hung his head and stepped up to the others.

Kurt apologized, but Charles waved it off. "Never mind."

"Let's go for some hot chocolate," Vera said and put a comforting hand on Charles' shoulder.

He nodded appreciatively, and followed her into the cafe where Kurt had been hiding. As they approached the counter, he made sure that he was in the back of the line with Oriana. One after one, the students purchased their cups of hot chocolate and made for a table in the other end of the cafe. Instead of immediately following the others when he received his chocolate, he stayed at the counter to wait for Oriana to get hers as well.

"Do y-you h-have any p-plans for the party?" he stuttered, when she turned around with a steaming cup of chocolate between her hands.

"Excuse me?" she giggled.

"Would you like to go to the prom with me?" he asked, trying to rein in his trembling nerves.

She gave him a smile and put her hand on his arm, trying to calm him down.

"Yes," she said softly, "I would love to."

It felt like his hands, that had felt frozen and stiff since the snow fight, were now on fire. He could feel the warmth crawling up his arms, out into his chest and up his neck before reaching his cheeks which burned bright red. It was possible that the heat was a result of holding onto the chocolate, but Charles was fully aware that this wasn't the case. He had no words. None. He just stood there with a stupid grin on his face, waiting for Oriana to make the next move.

"So, we have a deal?" she said, removing her hand from his arm again.

"What? Uhm, yes! Of course. T-thank you," he babbled lamely before following her to join the others at the table.

Kurt gave him a knowing glance as he slumped into his seat, but said nothing. Oriana whispered something to Seanne and vera which made them snicker uncontrollably, but Charles' attention was locked firmly on his cup of chocolate.

"So, who would be considered the winner of our little snow fight?" Kurt asked, taking a gentle sip from his cup.

"Certainly not you," Seanne laughed.

"A draw then?"

"You wish!"

Kurt laughed and slapped Charles on the shoulder, nearly knocking his beverage out of his hand. "But none of you actually managed to hit this bad boy."

"Because he cheated," Vera objected.

"Not on purpose," Kurt countered.

"I will settle for a draw," Oriana said and smiled her wonderful smile at Charles.

_I must be dreaming!_

_I have a date with the hottest and smartest girl on the station!_

_Fuck the biotics!_

He returned her smile shyly and took a sip from his cup. He didn't care if it wasn't really a date. It was more than he had ever had. Maybe this prom thing wasn't such a huge pain in the ass after all.


	15. Left Behind

Chapter Fifteen - Left behind

"Where is Oriana?" Charles asked.

"Don't know," Vera shrugged and returned her attention to her omelet.

"Maybe she's sick," Kurt suggested.

"Or maybe," Prangley said with his mouth full of food, "she doesn't want to come down here, because she has started to doubt her decision to go to prom with you." He pointed his spoon towards Charles and shoveled some more cereal into his mouth.

"Fuck you, Prangley!" Charles yelled, causing Vera to jump in her seat. He stood up from the table and gave Prangley a death glare. "Why do you always have to be such a fucking dick?"

Prangley jumped to his feet as well, his biotic aura glowing brightly. "You want a piece of me, Magnus?"

Vera and Kurt stood up as well and stepped in front of Charles, both of them radiating biotic energy.

"You can't fight all of us!" Vera shouted and looked at Prangley with disgust.

Prangley laughed scornfully. "Nice going, shit-face. You can't even fight your own battles. You need help from someone with actual biotic powers."

He calmly picked up his bowl with cereal and left the table, flipping Charles off as he walked away.

"Thanks," Charles muttered.

"Don't mention it, mate," Kurt said as his aura dwindled. "Prangley can be a stupid bastard sometimes."

Other students from the nearest tables returned to their breakfast, many of them appeared disappointed that they weren't going to experience a biotic fight in the middle of Orion Hall.

"I'm going to Ascension Hall," Charles said, "I'm not really hungry anyway."

"We'll go with you," Vera said, clearly worried that Prangley might be planning some sort of ambush.

They made it all their way to the classroom with confrontation, and when they arrived, they saw that Prangley was sitting at the desk in the far corner of the room, eating the rest of his breakfast. Charles took a seat at the desk in the opposite corner, with Vera behind him and Kurt to his left. Seconds later, Seanne and Reiley entered and sat down at two of the remaining desks. Seanne immediately seemed to pick up on the awkward tension in the room, and she whispered something to Vera that Charles couldn't hear. Vera shook her head in response, and Seanne let the matter, whatever it was, drop.

"Where's Oriana?" Reiley asked, as he noticed that they were one student short. "Is she sick?"

"We don't know," Kurt said in a tone that told him to ditch that particular conversational subject.

For a long time, the Ascension Project students just sat there in silence. Nobody spoke a word for over fifteen minutes until Jack entered the room.

"Attention!" She yelled, as if the room had been loud and lively. That was in no way the case.

"I have some important information for you," Jack continued.

Nobody wanted to say anything, but it was clear to everyone what she was going to talk about.

"As you may have noticed, Miss Lawson is not present, and she won't be in the future either," Jack said, as she pointed to the empty desk in front of her.

"What happened to her?" Charles whispered, expecting the worst.

"Nothing too dramatic," Jack assured him. "The cheerleader, um, Miranda I mean, came and picked her up very early this morning."

"Picked her up?" Seanne repeated, "why?"

"That's none of your business, Bellarmine," Jack reprimanded. "It only concerns Oriana and her sister."

"She didn't even get to say goodbye," Vera sobbed.

Jack crossed her arms impatiently. "They were in a hurry. But she told me to say 'hi' to all of you."

She walked over to the door, pushed the button to open it and leant against the door frame. "You're going to the gym today." She pointed at Charles. "Magnus. I need to see you in my office immediately. The rest of you can practice whatever the fuck you want, but stay in the gym."

Charles remained seated while the rest of them slowly filed out of the classroom and down the hallway to the gym. He thought that he saw Jack give Prangley a murderous look as he walked past her and out of the door, but maybe that was just his imagination.

"Follow me," Jack said, when all the other students had left the classroom.

Charles followed her out into the corridor, wondering what she could possibly want with him. He hardly thought that Jack would know or care about his prom arrangement with Oriana, and there was just no way that she would call him to a meeting in her office to talk about that. As they entered her office, he immediately sat down in one of her guest chair without being asked to, but Jack didn't seem to care at all.

"Beer?" she asked, as she stepped through the door into her personal quarters.

"Is that appropriate, ma'am?" He boldly asked. "It's school hours."

Jack shrugged. "What the fuck do I care?"

Charles could hear her roam around in her fridge. "So, you want one or not?" she called from the other room.

"No, thank you," he answered.

"Suit yourself," Jack said as she returned with a beer for herself. She sat down on the other side of her desk and put her feet up.

"Did Oriana leave because of her father?" Charles asked.

"What do you know about it?"

"She told me quite a lot," he explained, remembering how he and Oriana had talked for hours on her very first day on the station.

Jack took a huge gulp of her beer, wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and placed the bottle on the desk. "Miranda had reason to believe, that her father was close to tracking Oriana to Grissom Academy, so she wanted to bring her to safety as quickly as possible."

"Safety? Where?"

"Dunno," Jack shrugged, "She wouldn't tell me."

Charles felt a little bit better, at least knowing that Oriana had left for a good reason, and that she was safe with her sister.

"What did you want to talk to me about?" he asked.

"I heard that you had another outburst of accidental power down on Elysium," she said and picked up her beer to take another sip, "tell me about it."

"I protected myself from some snowballs," Charles explained, "but as you said, it was accidental. I was unable to do it again afterwards."

She scratched her head lazily and started to twirl back and forth on her chair. "Look, I'm no scientist. But it looks like your outbursts occur when you are scared or at least stressed. I recognize it from myself. I can cause way more damage when I am pissed off than when I'm calm."

"So I have to be scared to be able to use my powers, and even then, I'm not in control?" Charles said meekly.

"Maybe," Jack shrugged, "but hey, what the fuck do I know, right?"

"What does Head Director Sanders think?" Charles asked.

Jack smiled. "She believes that you will be able to control your biotics very soon, and that the outbursts are demonstrating your progress."

"Sweet," Charles muttered sardonically. He wasn't going to get his hopes up once more, just to have them shot down again.

Jack showed a toothy grin and took another drink of her beer.

"Sanders has another theory," Jack said, as she threw away the empty bottle. "She thinks that, when your powers kick in, you will be able to use your powers more potently when you are upset. Like me, but instead of getting angry, you just have to get scared, and that's why, right now, your powers only work when you get frightened."

"So I will be stronger when I'm scared?"

"That's her theory..."

Charles laughed softly. "How is that practical?"

"It might not be the worst ability to have," Jack said. "Fighting can get scary from time to time."

"Were you ever scared?" Charles asked innocently, "when you worked for Commander Shepard?"

"Never," Jack snorted. "I was pissed off though. All the time."

They shared a little laugh, before Jack got serious again.

"Heard you had a fight with Prangley this morning, in the middle of Orion Hall. Want to talk about it?"

"I'd rather not," Charles said, "it was hardly a fight anyway."

"Is he giving you a hard time because of your powers?" she guessed.

"A bit," Charles said honestly, easily recalling Prangley's harsh comment from the breakfast table. "But I don't want you to, you know, rip his head off."

"It's fucking tempting," Jack grimly said. "But I won't even talk to him, if that is what you really want?"

"It is."

"Fair enough," Jack shrugged. "But I want you tell me if it ever happens again. Then I'll rip his fucking head off!"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Good. Now go to the gym and work out. That fucker Wolff tells me, that we're really close to beating the combat engineers in best overall time on the obstacle course."

"Yes, ma'am. I will do my best."

Charles left Jack's office, walked down the hallway and entered the gym, where his classmates were all busy practicing different things.

Prangley was, not surprisingly, doing bench presses with a seemingly impossible amount of weight. Kurt had theorized that Prangley would often use his biotics when lifting weight, but Prangley had declined that this was the case on several occasions, and Charles was inclined to believing that he was actually telling the truth.

Vera and Seanne were both practicing biotic punches at the punch bags. Judging from the amount of sand on the floor, they were both improving their technique.

Reiley was biotically levitating one of the punch bags from one end of the gym to the other, occasionally slamming it into the floor, before continuing.

Kurt was running on one of the treadmills, positively glistening with sweat. Charles jumped on the treadmill next to his and started to jog.

"What... did... Jack... want?" Kurt panted and slowed down to be able to talk.

"We just talked about this morning and the snowball incident," Charles replied offhandedly, as he increased his speed.

"Is she going to kill him?" Kurt said, gesturing towards Prangley. "She is, isn't she?"

Charles shook his head. "She wanted. Told her not to."

He increased his speed further, until he was sprinting at top velocity. Thankfully, Kurt took the hint and didn't talk to him anymore.

Charles was fueled by pure rage and sadness. He was still infuriated by Prangley's hurtful words that morning, and he felt that it was incredibly unfair, that the first girl that he had ever had the balls to ask out, had actually said yes, just to leave him behind a few days later. He knew it wasn't her fault, or even Miranda's, but that didn't help him right now. He gritted his teeth together and increased the speed of the treadmill even further until his lungs were burning, his eyes watering and his heart threatened to jump right out of his chest. For some reason, the pain made him feel a little better.

-X-X-X-

Charles was enjoying lunch in Orion Hall with Kurt, Vera and the Bellarmines, when Prangley walk up to their table with a tray of his own.

"What do you want?" Charles snarled in a way that was very unlike his usual behavior.

Prangley hung his head, but then looked up to lock eyes with Charles. "I just wanted to tell you, that I am sorry for what I said this morning."

"Really?" Charles said as he crossed his arms in disbelief. "Which part of it?"

"All of it," Prangley said, still holding his tray in his hands. "I shouldn't have joked about Oriana, and I certainly shouldn't have made fun of you because of your powers. For that, I apologize."

Charles breathed a heavy sigh, but allowed for Prangley to take a seat.

"I'm sorry to," he said. "I overreacted to your joke about Oriana not wanting to go to prom with me. There was no way that you could have known that she was actually gone."

Prangley reached out his enormous hand. "Friends?"

"Friends," Charles agreed and shook his hand.

"How are you feeling?" Prangley asked, sounding genuinely concerned.

"Better now," Charles said with a small smile. "But yeah, it sucks!"

"I have an idea for a prank that might cheer you up," Prangley grinned.

"Really?"

"Oh yeah," he laughed. "Rodriguez, I'm going to have borrow your omni-tool for a moment."

-X-X-X-

Jack was sitting in her office going over her class' latest test results, when her intercom suddenly beeped.

"Yes?"

_"Hey Jack, it's me."_

"Shepard?"

Jack had no idea why Commander Shepard would call her. They hadn't spoken, since she had left the Normandy to avoid legal problems. Her past wasn't exactly clean, and they had both agreed that it would be best if she wasn't on the Normandy when he turned himself over to the Alliance.

"Heard you're on trial," she said, "guess the Alliance fucking hates Cerberus too."

_"Yeah," _Shepard said through the intercom, _"they do, but that's not why I'm calling."_

"Huh? What's up?"

_"I miss you, Jack," _Shepard sincerely said after a long pause.

"Changed your mind, have you?" Jack purred.

Shepard let out a boyish giggle, very unlike him. _"Maybe," _he said mysteriously, _"How are you doing at Grissom, are the kids any good?"_

"Yeah, they are.." she started, but then a thought hit her.

_I never told him about my new job!_

Without a sound, she got up from her desk and stepped silently out into the corridor. A few doors down, she saw that Prangley had removed a wall panel and had his omni-tool connected to the wiring. The rest of her students were standing around him, snickering.

"Hello, Jack. Are you there?" he said into his omni-tool.

_"Hello, Jack. Are you there?" _Shepard's voice came from the intercom in her room, and Jack realized that she had been fooled. She hadn't been talking to Shepard, it had been Prangley all along. Somehow, he was using his omni-tool to make him sound like Commander Shepard on her intercom.

_Fuckers! They Pranked me!_

Smirking, she crept up behind her students. It was time for some payback.

"Jack honey, are you there?" Prangley said again, trying his hardest not to laugh.

Jack dramatically cleared her throat and all her students whirled around to face her, fear painted on their faces.

"Good evening, kids," she said calmly and pointed to Prangley's omni-tool. "A Shepard VI?"

Prangley nodded. "It's not mine, it's Rodriguez's!" he defended.

Rodriguez glared mercilessly into the back of his head.

"I see," Jack said, still very calm. She had learned from Shepard how it was often more fun to intimidate others by acting cool and collected than be screaming and shouting. "So whose idea was this?"

Rodriguez immediately pointed out Prangley with a revengeful smirk.

"Of course," Jack sighed as she shook her head.

"I'm sorry ma'am, but I just wanted to..." Prangley started, but was quieted by Jack's stare.

"This was actually pretty cleverly done," Jack praised, as she pretended to inspect the wall panel that had been removed to allow Prangley access to the wiring. "You had help?"

"One of the engineers helped us out," Prangley admitted.

"Your girlfriend?" Jack asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"She's not my... Yes," Prangley conceded.

"Thought so."

The Bellarmine twins had started fidgeting with their uniforms, and Magnus and Nielsen were both tapping their feet rapidly. Obviously, they were awaiting their punishment with anxiety.

"I'm gonna let you all go with a warning," she said after a long and, for the students, very uncomfortable pause. Jack was laughing on the inside, when she saw how they all breathed a collective sigh of relief. "Because it was actually pretty funny and well executed. Now, go to your rooms! You're all grounded until tomorrow."

"Yes, ma'am," they said and walked towards the door leading out of the Ascension Hallway.

Jack picked up the panel that had been removed from the wall and put it back in its place.

"If you tell anyone about this," she shouted, "I'll destroy you!"

The students quickly looked back over their shoulders and then picked up the pace to get out of range, before Jack could change her mind.

_Fucking bastards! They really had me going there!_


	16. Party Time

Chapter Sixteen - Party Time

_Dear Charles,_

_I am so sorry, that I was unable to say goodbye before I left. Miri came and picked me up very early in the morning. Say 'hi' to all the others for me, but please do not tell any of them about my father. Miri was pretty upset that I had told you all so much, but only you, Jack and Lt. Sanders know about my father, we would both appreciate if it could stay that way. I cannot tell you where I am now, and you won't be able to answer this message, but if I ever see you again, I owe you a dance._

_Again, I am really sorry._

_- Ori._

-X-X-X-

Charles breathed a deep sigh as he put down his datapad. It was nice to hear that Oriana was safe at least, but it didn't do anything to remove the thoughts in his head of what could have been. He knew it was stupid. He had only known Oriana for a few weeks, and their relationship was nothing beyond classmates, so it would be silly of him to let himself sink into any kind of grief over her departure. However, in the few days between their trip to Elysium and Oriana's departure, he had started to form hopes about a deeper relationship with her, but none of that mattered now. She was gone, and he would have to move on.

Admitting to himself, that he still wasn't ready to let go of her completely, he quickly saved Oriana's message on his omni-tool before leaning back into his chair. He closed his eyes and tried to remove the memories of the girl he would have taken to prom from his memory, but found that he was unsuccessful.

His thoughts were interrupted by a loud noise from his door. The doorbell. He shook his head violently to bring himself back to a normal state of mind, before standing and opening the door.

"'Sup?" Kurt asked, as he and Vera walked in an sat down on his bed.

"How are you doing?" Vera asked, looking slightly worried.

"Fine," Charles lied. "Oriana says 'hi'."

Vera smiled. "She contacted you?"

"Yes."

"Why did she leave?" Kurt probed curiously.

Charles shrugged. "I don't know," he lied again. "As Jack said, it's between Oriana and her sister. Why would she tell me?"

Kurt and Vera didn't offer any responses, but just sat there in silence for some time.

"Ready for tonight, then?" Kurt asked after a while.

"Not going," Charles muttered.

Vera shook her head and sighed. "Of course you are!"

Charles folded his arms and looked into her eyes. "No, I am not. I don't feel like it."

Vera jumped off his bed, walked over to Charles' desk and slammed her hand into the tabletop in front of him.

"You are!" she commanded.

"Watch it, mate," Kurt warned with a smile, "you don't want her to throw a fit in your room. She'll kill you and destroy everything you own."

Charles couldn't hold back a laugh, but stopped immediately when he noticed the seriousness in Vera's eyes. "Who would I go with?" he asked.

"One of the engineers maybe?" Kurt suggested.

"All taken," Charles dismissed, "Prangley told me."

"Go with me then," Vera said as sat back down on his bed.

"Aren't you going with Bellarmine?" Kurt asked with a puzzled look on his face.

"Yes," Vera answered, "but if Prangley could take two girls to Christmas party last year, I can bloody well take two dates for this one."

Kurt laughed hysterically. "Double arm candy for Rodriguez then?" he managed to get out between his giggles.

Vera punched him hard in the arm.

"Ouch!" he squealed and rubbed his bicep, "I am sore already. Jack has been brutal these last couple of days. I am starting to think the joke wasn't such a good idea after all. She's been even tougher than Wolff!"

"Big baby!" Vera snorted and turned to Charles, "So, what do you think?"

Charles shook his head. "Nah, there's no way that Reiley would agree to that either."

"You're probably right," Vera conceded, "but please go out and find another date then. There's no shame in coming alone either. Please just promise me, that you won't hide here in your room all night."

"I'll see what I can do," Charles said, noncommittally.

"Okay, I guess we will be on our way then," Kurt said and rose from the bed. "We have to talk to the twins about tonight. Too bad I've got a girl at home, eh? Seanne will be mesmerized by my sexy dance moves, but I will have to decline when she asks me to come back to her room for another kind of dance."

"Prick!" Vera scolded and hit him again.

"Ow!" Kurt yelled and ran out the door.

"See you at the party, Charles," Vera said hopefully as she stormed out into the hallway to beat up Kurt some more.

Charles decided to go to the gym. Like Kurt, he could definitely feel his muscles aching from the last couple of days with Jack. She hadn't explicitly said that she was punishing them for their prank, but the intensity of their education certainly had increased since she caught them. Sore or not, he needed to take his mind off of Oriana and the party that he wasn't going to.

As he stepped out into the hallway, he immediately felt that something was different. Expectations of the night's party were shared among the older students, while the younger ones were discussing different ways for them to be sneak into Orion Hall during the festivities. Charles had to maneuver in and out between scores of students as he walked down the corridors. It seemed that every single student of Grissom Academy was preparing for the party, whether they were invited or not, by standing around in the hallways with their friends.

When he stepped into Orion Hall, there was an even bigger bustle. Many of the tables were being removed to form a dance floor, and a stage had been put up at the end of the room. The sound of maintenance mechs clicking and clacking as they cleaned and prepared Orion Hall for the prom was heard over the sound tests from the stage and the ongoing chatter from students who had come down to see the familiar room transform into what looked like a combination between a banquet room and a night club. Many of them were younger students who wouldn't have the opportunity to see it later that evening.

Charles zigzagged his way through Orion Hall and down a hallway on the other side, stepped into an elevator, and after a few more turns he arrived at Ascension Hall. Swiping his ID card allowed him access, and he stepped into the hallway and walked straight to the gym. Surprisingly, he wasn't alone in the gym.

"Hello ma'am," he said as he settled himself at one of the machines.

"Hey," Jack grunted offhandedly as she picked up the pace on the treadmill she was using.

Charles and Jack both minded their own business in silence in half an hour, before Jack stepped off the treadmill, sat down on the floor and started to towel herself off. Charles had now changed to doing bench presses, and Jack was watching him silently from her spot on the floor.

"How much can you lift?" she asked and squirted some water from a bottle into her mouth.

"Less than Prangley," Charles said as he let the bar sink to his chest.

Jack huffed. "Does he use his biotics?"

"I don't know. Don't think so," Charles said as he continued his exercise.

"Do you?" Jack asked.

Charles settled the weight in the rack and sat up. "Ma'am, you know I can't."

"I'm just messing with you, Magnus," Jack laughed and squirted some water in his direction. "Are you just here so you can look ripped for prom?"

Charles shook his head. "No, ma'am. I'm not going."

"Really?" Jack said, sounding genuinely surprised. "And what does your prom date think of that?"

Charles let out a humorless laugh. "My date was Oriana Lawson, ma'am."

Jack drank some water and got up from the floor. "I see. I'm not going either."

Without any further words, she turned around and left the gym.

Charles decided that he was too sore to work out any more for the day, and after a quick shower he returned to his room. Briefly, he entertained the thought of walking around the station, asking various, strange women if they would be willing to go to the prom with him, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. At this point, it wasn't a case of having a date or not anyway. If he had really wanted to go to the party, he could have gone alone.

He jumped onto his bed and hoped to just fall asleep so the party could be over with, and life on the station could return to normal. Soon after, his wish was granted and sleep took him.

-X-X-X-

Jack was soaking in her bathtub and on the brink of actually falling asleep. Her newfound ability to relax and let her guard down, was another thing that she owed to Commander Shepard and the relative safety of the Normandy. In her earlier life, she had never been able to do these kinds of things, but now she found that she enjoyed it immensely whenever she was alone.

Suddenly, she was ripped out of her trance-like state by the beeping sound of her intercom.

"Yes?" she called out, activating the intercom with her voice.

_"Hi Jack, it's me."_

"Hello, Lieutenant Sanders."

_"Don't you think it's time you start calling me Kahlee, when it's just the two of us?" _Sanders asked with a giggle.

"Maybe," Jack said.

_"Why are you shouting?" _Kahlee asked.

"In the tub," Jack said and let herself sink deeper into the water. 'loving it,' she thought to herself.

_"Good, so you're getting ready for tonight then?"_

"Nah, I was just in the gym."

_"Jack! You can't leave me alone at that party!"_

"Why is it that you want me to come to the party so bad?" Jack laughed.

Sanders sighed, "_promise not to laugh? It's Wolff. I think he likes me!"_

Jack's laughed so hard that she was unable to keep her head above water. "Really? That's... Nasty," she finally spluttered.

_"Please, Jack. I just need someone to talk to, so I can have a good excuse not to dance with him."_

"Sorry Doc," Jack said and closed her eyes, trying to find the sense of tranquility again.

_"Jack, Please," _Kahlee begged.

"Nope."

_"Please, I'll get you a pay raise!"_

"Not interested."

_"I'll sponsor your next tattoo!"_

"Nah."

_"I'll tell you all my secrets!"_

"Not going to happen."

Kahlee breathed another deep sigh. _"You're really not going then?"_

"No. Sorry, Kahlee."

_"Alright," _Sanders conceded, _"This seems like a lost cause. See you later then."_

"Enjoy your party," Jack said with a smirk. "Say 'hi' to Wolff from me."

_"Screw you, Jack," _Kahlee said and hung up. It sounded insincere and comical coming from the head director, who was usually so balanced and correct in everything she did.

Jack shook her head and allowed herself a little laugh as she sank into the bubbles once again.

As she lolled her head back to rest it on the edge of the bath tub, she started to think about her first time as a teacher. She had surprised herself by the amount of care she was showing. It actually mattered to her, whether her students were learning their shit or not, and not just because of her own pride, but on behalf of her students. She wanted to educate them, so that they would have the best possible chances of surviving whatever battles they might throw themselves into.

Even more unheard of was it, that she secretly enjoyed observing the very different personalities and abilities of her students. Like Rodriguez, the pretty little girl that was able to produce one of the most powerful barriers that Jack had ever seen. In private, Jack would often snicker at the thought of Rodriguez being a hopeless romantic or from her banter with Ensign Nielsen. There was also Prangley, the class jock, who came off as a self-important asshole, but also proved to be her most accomplished student in almost all facets of biotics. Personally, Jack liked his cheek, and she was happy that most of the other students seemed to accept his personality as well. Her only worry was that Prangley was too much to handle for Ensign Magnus, who hadn't developed the same tough skin, it took to be a classmate of Jason Prangley.

She let her mouth sink below the surface of the water and started to blow bubbles, making a sound like an old motorboat, as she tried to recall everything she had learned about her individual students. In general, she was starting to worry about Charles Magnus. She was no scientist, and she honestly had no idea whether or when his powers would develop. He would never admit it, but Jack could tell that he was truly troubled by his situation, and that he was increasingly frustrated by either having to watch his classmates practice from the sidelines or by acting as a guinea pig. Like he had no other purpose there than providing a living target for his classmates.

The entire episode with Oriana Lawson arriving at the station, just to leave a few weeks later, had put him in an even darker mood, and Jack was worried that Magnus was now dangerously close to either snapping or just giving up. He didn't seem like the kind of person, who would violently explode because of hardship, but she was genuinely worried that he might suffer a psychological breakdown if the situation didn't improve. Fast.

Today, she had learned that he wasn't even going to prom. Undoubtedly because Lawson had had to leave. Jack didn't have much experience with being a normal teenager. Her own youth hadn't exactly been average. However, she had noticed the spirited atmosphere amongst the older students on the station. The part of the student body that would be allowed access to tonight's party. She figured, that if Charles honestly didn't want to go to prom, it was probably a culmination of the number of concerns of his mind.

_What the fuck is this? I am actually worrying about the feelings of this guy._

_Why should I care if he wants to go to prom or not?_

Jack breathed a deep sigh and stepped out of her bathtub. She grabbed a towel from the rack and dried herself off. Still naked, she opened her refrigerator and grabbed a beer. She took a drink and didn't stop until her bottle was almost empty. She felt the stinging feeling of the cold, carbonated drink in her throat, but ignored it and started to put on her uniform. She looked at her alarm clock. The party was starting now, and most of the older students and instructors were probably gathering in Orion Hall for a fancy dinner at this time.

She stepped through her office and out into the hallway as she tied her hair in the usual ponytail. Not surprisingly, the hallways were empty and almost ghostlike. If she had been a different person, she might have found them creepy, but Jack's anxiety didn't come from the dark, deserted corridors, but from what she was about to do.

'What the hell am I doing?' she thought to herself as she stepped into an elevator and pressed the button.

-X-X-X-

Charles was abruptly awakened by the violent screeching sound of his doorbell. Sleepily, he rubbed his eyes and yawned. He wondered who could possibly be disturbing him at this time. They were all the party.

With a groan he sat up in his bed. According to his alarm clock, the party dinner was well on its way. Why on earth were Kurt and Vera still trying to get him to come? Unsuccessfully, he tried to get his ruffled hair under control, before getting up and opening the door.

"What now?" he said tiredly, before realizing that it wasn't Kurt and Vera that had disrupted his sleep. "I'm sorry, ma'am. I thought you were... Never mind. How may I help you?"

"Isn't it a bit early to go to bed?" Jack said and looked him up and down.

Charles looked down himself and realized that he was only wearing his pajama pants. Quickly, he grabbed a t-shirt and pulled it over his head, but in his hurry, he messed up the openings and got stuck with his head halfway out one of the arm holes and both of his arms ended up flailing from the hole where his head should have gone.

Jack huffed. "Relax, Magnus. Don't strangle yourself."

Moments later, a now very red-faced Charles Magnus had untangled himself from the t-shirt and managed to put it on properly.

"There's a party going on, you know?" Jack said and crossed her arms over her chest.

"I already told you, I'm not going to prom," Charles said in a annoyed tone. "ma'am," he added, as he remembered who he was talking to.

"See," Jack said and put her hands on her hips, "that's where you are wrong!"

Charles snorted and crossed his arms defiantly. "And what makes you say that?"

"Because I have a date for you," Jack said as a smile played at the corner of her mouth.

Charles let out a humorless laugh. "What if that doesn't really affect my decision?"

Jack shrugged. "Let's see."

"Alright," Charles said and leaned against the doorframe, arms still crossed. "I'll play along. Who is it?"

Jack smirked and spread her arms out to the sides theatrically. "Me!"

"You?" Charles asked loudly.

"Yes."

"Really?"

"Yup."

"I thought you weren't going either," Charles said.

"I wasn't. I changed my mind. And you are coming with me," Jack stated as a matter of fact.

"I think... I think, I know what you are trying to do, ma'am," Charles said softly. Almost in a whisper. "Thank you. But I think I'd rather stay here."

Jack shook her head. "Nope. It wasn't a question."

"You're ordering me to come with you to prom?"

"If that's what it takes," Jack assured and stared him down. Charles met her gaze for a few seconds, but then hung his head. He was no match for her, so he opted for a joke.

"Aye, ma'am," he said and snapped off a crisp salute.

Jack snorted and didn't return his salute. "You have clothes?" she asked.

Charles nodded.

"Fine," Jack said and stepped back out into the hallway. "Pick me up in half an hour. My office."

Charles sighed heavily, but he didn't have the energy to argue further. "Fine," he whispered hoarsely.

Jack started to walk down the corridor, but then turned on her heel. "Hey Magnus!"

"Yes?"

"Just because we're going to prom, you shouldn't get any funny ideas into your head!" jack warned. "I just don't want you to miss the party."

"I won't." Charles promised. "Besides, you were the one who ordered me to come," he added with a cheeky smile.

"Don't get cocky!" Jack said with a smile. "That's how it starts!"

"How what starts?"

"Something that would probably be a bad fucking idea," Jack said mysteriously and continued towards her office. "Half an hour, Magnus. Don't be late. Women hate that shit."

-X-X-X-

'Maybe this was a bad idea,' Jack thought as she stepped back into her office. Now she would have to go to the party, and she really didn't want to. She was still surprised by herself. She couldn't remember the last time she had done something, that she didn't want to do, just to make somebody else happy. Even weirder was it, that the person she thought she was helping, didn't want to do it either.

She was also starting to think that there might be some serious consequences for both herself and Magnus, when people learned that she was his prom date. Jack had no idea about fraternization rules on the station, but she was sure that some people might take offense that a student was taking a teacher to prom. She also knew that Magnus would have to endure a considerable amount of teasing from his fellow students after this party.

Regret started to form in her head as she sat down on her bed. Maybe this was a really bad idea after all.

On the other hand, she was sure that Magnus would benefit from attending the party. At least he wouldn't have to hear his classmates talking about what an awesome party it had been for weeks after. She was also quite confident, that she wouldn't lose her job over this, and that Magnus wouldn't be bullied for too long, if she didn't treat him differently in the following weeks. Besides, it wasn't even a real date. She was just making sure that her student didn't sink deeper down into the pit of misery, that was all. Though she had to admit, that when Ensign Magnus had opened the door without a shirt on, she could a flutter in her stomach. She was only a woman.

Immediately, she shook her head to remove those thoughts. She was just helping him out, even if he didn't want it, and that was it.

-X-X-X-

Charles nervously adjusted his tie and made sure, that his hair was as neat as it could possibly be. It was still quite unruly, but at least he had managed to comb most of it backwards, so it would look just a bit more under control than usual. In his first week at Grissom Academy, Rodriguez had proudly told him, that she, almost singlehandedly, was responsible for the addition of mirrors in all the elevators on the station. It was an immensely popular suggestion with the academy's female population, but right now, Charles was greatly benefitting from it as well.

After a short ride, the elevator stopped and the doors opened. Charles quickly checked his suit in the mirror one last time. The blue suit fit him perfectly, and he stepped out of the elevator, satisfied that if he was going to be forced to go to prom, at least he would look decent.

He rounded a few corners, swiped his ID card to gain access to Ascension Hall and stopped in front of one of the doors.

_Ascension Project - Advanced Class_

_Instructor Jacqueline Nought_

At first, they had all wondered why Jack's door said 'jacqueline Nought', and finally Kurt had buckled under peer pressure and dared to ask their instructor. To Kurt's and everyone else's relief, Jack hadn't become the least agitated. She simply explained to them, that she had no other names than Jack, but the Academy management wanted her office to look more official, at least from the outside, and thus, they had used her alias on the door. She did, however, warn them, that she was not to be referred to by any other names than 'jack'.

Charles cleared his throat and wringed his hands nervously, as he paced back and forth in front of Jack's office door. He still didn't want to go to the party, but Jack really hadn't left any room for negotiation. Suddenly, it became clear to him, that he had no idea what was expected of him as Jack's impromptu prom date. Ultimately, he convinced himself that Jack probably would demand too much of him. After all, she had only just ordered him to come thirty minutes ago.

He reach out his hand, noticing how much he was trembling, and rang Jack's doorbell.

"Just a second!" Jack shouted through the door.

Charles laughed to himself.

_Yeah, women really hate it when men are late, but even Jack is taking her sweet time to get ready._

He started to think about what his friends would say. Surely, they would give him a ridiculously hard time because of his 'choice' of date. He could easily imagine Prangley going on and on about this for months after the party. At least he believed that the others would leave him be, when he had explained the situation.

If all else failed, he would come up with a lie. Maybe he could convince them that Jack desperately wanted to go to prom, and that she begged him for hours to go with her, so she wouldn't have to bear the shame of coming alone, and that he finally showed her mercy and agreed to go with her.

_Yeah right! Like anyone is going to believe that!_

Charles knew, that Jack was doing this to cheer him up, and that she would never had gone to prom otherwise. He just hoped, that his classmates would come to the same conclusion instead of believing, that he was trying to instigate a romantic relationship with their instructor.

He was still pacing back and forth, and it had now been several minutes, since he rang the doorbell. He didn't dare ringing it a second time, so Charles decided to take a seat on a bench in the hallway.

He waited for Jack with great anticipation. He wondered if she was going to come out of her office wearing the same modified uniform she always wore. That would certainly look weird next to him in his shiny new suit. As her office door opened and Jack stepped out into the corridor, his jaw immediately dropped to the floor.

Jack had switched out her uniform with a very expensive looking white dress that clung tightly to her slender figure. It must have been the thing she had bought on Elysium. It was strapless, and Charles could see all the tattoos on Jacks shoulders, arms and most of her back too. He became slightly flustered when he noticed how low-cut the dress was, and even more so when he saw how much of the tattoo-covered skin on Jack's thighs was visible. On her feet, Jack was wearing shiny black boots with shafts all the way up to her knees. Jack's dark hair wasn't tied back in the usual ponytail. Instead, she had swept all of it to one side, which Charles found very attractive.

"Wow," Charles sighed, "you look..."

"Don't even think about it!" Jack interrupted and raised a hand. "I just bought this thing because Sanders begged me to. I really don't want to talk about it."

"Understood, ma'am," Charles nodded and accepted the bottle of beer she offered him. "Thanks."

"Shall we?" Jack said and gestured towards the Ascension Hall Exit.

They stepped out into the common corridor in total silence and walked over to take the elevator to Orion Hall.

"New suit?" Jack asked, as they waited for the elevator. It was clearly an attempt to kill the awkward silence between them.

"Yes," Charles said with a curt nod.

"Looks like an Alliance officer's uniform," Jack noted.

"I guess," Charles shrugged. "So you can compliment my clothes, but I can't comment on yours?" he jokingly added.

Jack snorted and adjusted her dress. She appeared to be very unfamiliar with that sort of attire. "I wasn't complimenting. Just making an objective observation."

"I see," Charles said, but couldn't hold back his smirk.

"Stop smiling like that," Jack warned, "you have no idea, how it feels to wear something as ridiculous as this."

"You're right," Charles giggled, "I have no idea, but you were the one who wanted to go."

Jack was just about to retort, but was interrupted by the arrival of the elevator.

"Any new theories on my lack of biotic powers?" Charles asked, as the elevator brought them closer to their destination.

"Magnus," Jack said seriously, "if we are doing this prom thing. We are fucking doing it right. I don't want to hear any talk about classes or biotics. Just try to have fun."

"Sure," Charles agreed. "I'll try."

The elevator came to a holt, and they stepped out into another hallway. Now they could hear soft music and the soft hum of hundreds of voices talking in Orion Hall. Charles and Jack both finished their beers and placed the empty bottles in a bin at the entrance to Orion Hall.

One of the instructors, who had been assigned to this particular entrance as a bouncer, gave them a quick look, but decided that they were obviously both old enough to attend the party and didn't make any move to stop them as they entered the huge room. It looked like everybody had just finished their starters, and that they were now waiting for their entrees.

Charles followed Jack as she made her way across the room in search for the rest of the Ascension Project students. He could help but notice the way her body looked from behind when she walked. The dress certainly didn't hide any of the shapes of her body, and Charles caught himself in rocking his head back and forth, following the sway of his instructors hips.

"Charles!" Kurt called, ripping him out of his ass-induced trance. Charles turned to see his friend running up to him. "You came!" he laughed and flung his arm around Charles' neck.

"Drunk already?" Charles laughed as he accepted a hug from Kurt, who was dressed in a bright red suit.

"Hah," Kurt said. "Free drinks. It would be a shame not to take advantage."

"Ahem," Jack cleared her throat to break up their hug.

Kurt's eyes bulged and his mouth fell wide open when he turned around to face their instructor. "Ma'am, you're wearing a dress!"

"It would certainly fucking seem so, Nielsen," Jack said sarcastically, trying to ignore his staring. "Are you too drunk already, or can you lead us to our table?"

"O-of course," Kurt stuttered, freed his eyes from Jack and motioned for them to follow him.

"Hi all," Charles said and waved to Vera, Prangley, Sophia, Reiley, Seanne and Lieutenant Sanders. "Sorry we're late."

Lieutenant Sanders was beaming at him, looking absolutely stunning in a deep purple dress. Charles returned her smile and gave her a friendly nod. "Good evening, lieutenant."

"Very, glad you could join us, Mr. Magnus."

"Charles!" Vera cried and threw herself at him. "You look amazing! That is such a wonderful suit!"

"Thanks," Charles whispered in her ear, as he returned her hug. "You look very beautiful," he added, causing Vera to tighten her grip around his chest.

Charles could feel her breasts pressing against him and looked down to see Vera's rather well-developed bosom squeezed tightly between their bodies. She was wearing a red dress, that allowed Charles and everybody else to fully enjoy her assets. Charles thought she looked a little like the old Disney character, Jessica Rabbit. He broke the hug, so she wouldn't feel how excited it was making him.

"You all look good," Charles said, as he walked around the table to exchange handshakes with the rest of his classmates.

Vera let out a soft whimper as Jack stepped forward from behind Charles' back. "Ma'am, you're so beautiful!"

"Ah, Rodriguez," Jack sighed, "I had a feeling that you would go fucking ape shit over this."

"But you look so cute," Rodriguez softly moaned and walked around Jack to see her from all angles.

"Cute!" Jack spat. "I do not look cute, Rodriguez. That's reserved for fluffy bunnies like you."

"Yes, ma'am," Rodriguez said and gave her a mock salute, knowing that Jack hated it when they saluted her. "I meant that you look sexy as hell, of course."

"Better, I guess," Jack shrugged and took a seat in one of the empty chairs.

Charles finished his trip around the table and took a seat beside her. "Wine?" He asked and reached for the bottle in the middle of the table.

"Fuck yeah," Jack said eagerly, earning herself a judgmental stare from Sanders. "Sorry lieutenant, but there's no swear jar on prom night," She laughed at the head director, who couldn't hold back a smile of her own.

Charles poured wine into Jack's and Sanders' glasses before emptying the bottle into his own.

"I thought you didn't want to come," Sanders said to Jack, "what changed your mind?"

"Thirsty," Jack shrugged and took a huge sip of her wine. She winked at Charles.

"And you?" Kurt said to Charles.

"Thirsty as well," Charles said before downing his glass of wine. He quickly poured himself a new one.

"So," Kurt whispered in his ear. "You and Jack?"

"Don't even start with that shit," he hissed back. "I was thirsty, she was thirsty. Similar goals."

Kurt smirked. "Tell me," he whispered. "What happens when you get horny, and she gets horny? Similar goals?"

"You're hopeless," Charles sighed.

"Come on, take a look at her," Kurt said, grabbed his jaw a turned him to look at Jack, who was in conversation with Lieutenant Sanders.

"What?"

"Your prom date, our instructor, is sexy as hell, dude!"

Charles and Kurt shared a laugh before they went to the buffet.

-X-X-X-

After having finished the dinner, Charles regretted ever deciding not to go to prom. The food had been among the best he had ever tasted, and the students of Ascension Project were having a wonderful time with their instructor and head director. They had emptied many bottles of wine, and Sanders was getting increasingly indifferent about the amount of alcohol consumed at their table. Even Jack seemed to enjoy herself. She laughed at Kurt's jokes, accepted praise and beauty advice from Vera and even allowed Prangley to tell Lieutenant Sanders about the prank they had pulled on her.

Charles couldn't help but notice that Kurt was right about Jack. She was sexy as hell. Vera was right too. She looked really cute, especially when she smiled at him. He had been drinking his fair share of wine, and he wasn't sure how many of his thoughts about Jack could be attributed to the amount of alcohol in his blood. He emptied his glass once again and excused himself to go to the restroom.

On his way back in to Orion Hall, he ran into three young men. He recognized them from their pistol matches against the combat engineers.

"Gentlemen," he greeted.

"Hey," one of them said, "you're Magnus, right?"

"Yes, I'm sorry, but I don't remember your name?"

"Thomas Snow," he said. "You're the guy who can't do nothing aren't you?" He asked scornfully.

"Excuse me," Charles said. He was starting to get a bad feeling about Thomas Snow and his two knuckle-cracking buddies.

"The guy with no powers!" Snow laughed venomously. "What are you even doing here at this academy?"

"Studying," Charles said, still keeping his cool.

Snow huffed. "Everybody here is special, but you're a nobody. Why don't you go home to mommy?"

"You sure are special, that much is true," Charles laughed.

"I saw you come in here with that crazy bitch instructor of yours," Snow taunted. "Is that why you're still here? You have no skills, but you're fucking the teacher, so you get to stay onboard?"

"Fuck you!" Charles yelled. His patience with this asshole was spent, and he tried to walk past him, but was shoved back by one of Snow's friends. He tried to get past them to the other side, but again, he was pushed back, this time straight into a wall.

"Aren't you going to unleash your powers on us, Magnus?" Snow provoked and stepped one step closer to Charles. "Oh no, I guess you can't."

In the blink of an eye, Prangley showed up, pushed Snow's sidekicks aside and stepped up behind the engineer, who was now in Charles' face.

He grabbed the back of Snow's collar and pulled him to the ground. The bully was caught completely off guard and slammed to the floor with a surprised look on his face. Charles felt no sympathy for him at all. He was just glad, that Prangley had showed up, before the situation had escalated further.

Prangley placed his knee on Snow's chest and pinned him to the ground. The two other engineers rushed forward to help their classmate, but Prangley held out his hand and formed a biotic barrier around himself and his 'victim'.

He leaned over Snow to apply extra pressure to his chest, while still holding out his hand to maintain the barrier.

"Apologize," he growled and increased the pressure on Snow's ribcage.

"Fuck off!" Snow hissed.

"Apologize," Prangley repeated and leaned forward, increasing the weight on Snow's chest until his face became very purple. "Now!"

"Alright!" Snow screamed, and Prangley gave him a little breathing room.

The purple-faced engineer turned his head to face Charles. "I'm sorry," he muttered.

"What's that?" Prangley said and leaned forward again.

"I'm sorry!" Snow screamed, gasping for air.

Prangley released the barrier and used his now free hand to give him two not-so-gentle claps on the cheek. "See, that wasn't so hard, was it?" He smirked and pulled Snow to his feet. "Now, go enjoy the rest of the party."

Thomas Snow scowled at Prangley and Charles, but he and his buddies quickly scurried away, when Prangley took a threatening step towards them.

"Thanks," Charles whispered.

"Don't mention it," Prangley said.

"Won't you get in trouble for using biotics?" Charles said, worried that Prangley might be punished, because he felt he had to help him.

"Bah," Prangley said. "Sophia says that Snow is a douche bag, but I don't think he will want to tell anybody about what just happened. Besides, I only used a barrier. That's hardly a serious offense."

They returned to Orion Hall to find that the music had changed to a more upbeat rhythm. Some band that Charles had never heard of was on the stage, and hundreds of students had filled up the dance floor.

"Love this song," Prangley shouted to overpower the loudness of the music. "I'll go find Sophia."

Charles nodded and patted him on the back. "Thanks again, Prangley."

"Sure!" Prangley said. "Let me know, if he's dumb enough to try anything again later."

Charles nodded again and walked back to their table to find that only Jack was sitting there. He took a seat next to her and joined her in watching the dance floor.

"That took you a while," Jack said and flipped some hair out of her face.

"Had a little talk with some friends of mine," Charles explained and grabbed a beer.

He caught sight of Kurt and Seanne moving around the dance floor to the fast beat of the music. Close by, Reiley was dancing with Vera. Charles laughed. Even from this distance, he could see that the male Bellarmine twin was having a hard time keeping his eyes off of Vera's cleavage.

"What's so funny?" Jack asked and leaned in to see what he was looking at.

Charles pointed to Vera and Reiley. "Notice his eyes?"

Jack watched her two students on the dance floor for ten second, in which Reiley managed to steal three good looks at Vera's breasts. "Horny bastard!" Jack laughed. "Well, it's not like she can complain about it. She's not exactly hiding herself."

"No," Charles shook his head, "no, she isn't."

"You like her?" Jack asked.

"She's my friend. Nothing more."

Jack giggled, surprisingly girlishly. "I'm sure Mr. Bellarmine considers her to be a friend too, but he still seems awfully interested."

Charles shrugged. "She looks good tonight."

Jack emptied her glass of wine and stood up. "Want to dance?"

Charles looked up at her face. She was smiling at him.

"No thanks," he muttered, "I'm no good."

"Magnus," Jack said sternly and put her hands on her hips. "Do I really have to make that an order too?"

"You would do that?" Charles laughed softly.

"I'm the psychotic biotic, remember. I'm completely crazy and unpredictable as hell! Who knows what I will do?"

"Okay okay, I'll dance with you," Charles agreed and took her hand.

"You make it sound like it's some sort of punishment," Jack said as she dragged him towards the dance floor.

"Not when you're looking like that," Charles said before he could stop himself. Jack stopped and Charles bumped into her. She glared at him, but Charles just laughed it off. "See ma'am, I can get to you too."

Jack smiled, shook her head and continued to drag him deeper in between the dancing students.

Charles honestly wasn't a very experienced dancer, so he decided to keep it simple and tried to copy what many of the other males were doing. Keep the arm action to a minimum and shuffle your feet around seemed to be the recipe for looking the least stupid while still appearing to be dancing. Jack seemed to be following his lead to begin with, but as the band changed up the tempo, Jack decided to crank it up to a level where Charles felt seriously uncomfortable.

She looked at him, and smiled when she saw the worry on his face. "No inhibitions," she said into his ear, "it's more fun this way."

Charles completely forgot to shuffle his feet from side to side, when he felt her warm breath in his ear. It sent shivers down his spine. He heard her words though, and they seemed sincere, so when the beat became even faster, Charles joined Jack in her madness. He had no idea what he was doing, but though Jack's moves were graceful and enticing, they certainly weren't organized, so he guessed that was part of the style. Soon, he was flailing his arms around and stomping his feet to the beat like Jack had showed him.

Around them, other couples had started dancing increasingly wild as well. If they had been inspired by Jack and himself, or if it was because of the music, Charles didn't know. It made him feel more confident that he wouldn't be ridiculed for his dancing, and he let loose even more. Up until this point, he hadn't really been dancing with Jack as much as just dancing while being opposite her. They hadn't touched each other at any point, but Charles figured that this was normal while dancing to this kind of electronic music. If that was the rule, Jack decided to break it just at that moment.

She spun around herself until she was dancing just in front of Charles facing away from him, where she started to rub her rear against his front. She reached back, grabbed his wrists and placed his hands forcefully on her hips, as she continued to grind against him.

Charles could feel the heat rise to his head, and he was sure that Jack could feel, through the thin layers of cloth, just how much he appreciated what she was showing him.

"Is this how you always dance?" He asked over her shoulder, as they swayed back and forth.

"It happens," Jack purred and shot her ass back into his front. "You like it."

It wasn't a question. Charles could tell as much. She was making an observation. In the way she was rubbing against him, there was no need in denying it. Oh yeah, he liked it!

Unfortunately, this was the moment when Kurt, Seanne, Vera, Prangley and Sophia showed up. Whistles and catcalls caused Charles to rip his hands off of Jacks hips as if they had been burning hot.

Immediately, Jack spun around and away from him and started to dance again. If Charles had thought that she would be able to get embarrassed, he probably would have believed that the red tint on Jack's cheeks was actually a blush.

"Nice moves, ma'am," Vera laughed, as she grabbed Reiley and copied what Jack had just done to Charles. Reiley laughed at first, as Vera started to grind her ass against his crotch, but soon after there was a hint of worry on his face. Obviously, his body was starting to react to Vera's dancing, just as Charles had reacted to Jack's.

Jack glared daggers at Vera, but couldn't help but laugh when she also noticed the effect her dancing was having on Reiley. She winked at Charles, and soon after they were all grinding their butts against anyone on the dance floor.

"Wow, that music is ancient," Kurt said as the band called it a night, and some other music started.

"nineteen hundreds," Charles specified. "It's rock and roll."

"It's catchy," Vera said, as she swayed to the music, "but how did you know?"

Charles laughed. "My parents are traditionalists. When I was younger they signed me up for jitterbug classes."

"Jitterbug?" Jack snorted. "What the hell is that?"

"Sounds kinda creepy," Prangley said, when he managed to break loose from Sophia's kiss.

"It's a dancing style," Charles explained, "very old, but great fun."

All his classmates looked at each other and nodded.

"Teach us!" They all said in unison.

"It's really fast," Charles warned.

"We're fast," Seanne said.

"There's also a lot of kicking and spinning," Charles explained, "and the guys will be throwing the ladies around."

"Kicking and spinning sounds fun," Vera said with a smile on his face.

"And I'm gonna throw this one around later tonight anyway," Prangley laughed and gave Sophia a little smack in butt.

"We'll see," Sophia said mysteriously, but the way she licked her lips told everybody, that Prangley was probably right.

"Anyway," Charles said to get back on topic, "grab your partners like this." He put one hand on Jack waist and took her hand in his other, and started to show them how they should kick their legs and spin their partners around.

He also showed them how they could pick up their partners and throw them into the air or over their shoulder. He quickly realized, that the short dress Jack was wearing really wasn't designed for its wearer to be picked up like that without revealing absolutely everything underneath, so he kept the tossing to a minimum.

"It's a really free dance, though," he finished. "Basically, anything goes. If you feel like spinning, you spin. If you feel like throwing your partner around, go ahead. It's all good."

It wasn't long before all four couples were laughing loudly as they spun around each other. On several occasions, they would accidentally kick somebody's shin, and a large ring was forming around them. The other students were desperate to get out of reach, but also interested in seeing what this weird dance was about.

Charles saw Prangley hurl Sophia impossibly high up in the air, where she completed several flips before landing safely in his arms again, squealing and laughing at the same time. Charles wasn't sure if Prangley had used his biotic powers to give his girlfriend that kind of altitude, but he didn't really care either. After what had happened with Thomas Snow, Charles was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

After almost two hour of dancing, and almost non-stop laughing, Charles was starting to feel tired, and he couldn't even imagine the pain in many of the girls' feet. How anyone could dance an entire night in those crazy hells was beyond him. As on cue, the music changed to slower and more romantic rhythms, and all the couples around them moved closer to each other to enjoy the last minutes of the party. Charles could see, that many of the students on the dance floor took advantage of the situation to share kisses, or outright groping their partners.

He let go of Jack and took a step back. Behind her, he could see Prangley and Sophia wrapped closely around each other, while his hands were exploring everything within reach.

"What do we do?" he awkwardly asked.

Jack silently shrugged as she closed the distance between them. Without a word, she wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder. Charles froze in place with his arms hanging limply down his sides. Jack took the initiative and started to rock her body gently from side to side to the soft tune of the music. Charles found a place for his hand on the middle of Jack's back and started to sway with her.

Charles and Jack both snickered when they saw Sergeant Wolff slow dancing with Kahlee Sanders. The bald old soldiers eyes were closed and he had a serene smile on his face. Sanders, however had a slight frown on her face, as she slapped her dance partners hand, which had slowly worked its way lower and lower down her back.

"I feel sorry for her," Charles whispered.

"Me too," Jack said, but she couldn't keep her shoulders from bobbing up and down with laughter.

Sanders looked up and saw them both smirking at her. She gave them a scowl in return and flipped them off behind Wolff's back.

"Swear jar" Jack mouthed at her with a vicious grin.

Sanders rolled her eyes and started to move herself and her handsy dance partner away from them.

"Victory," Jack whispered and devoted her full attention to Charles again.

As the party came to an end, students started to find their way back to their rooms. Or in many cases, back to somebody else's room.

"Thank you, ma'am," Charles said to Jack, as they strolled down an empty corridor. "I needed this."

"I know," Jack said and pushed him gently on his shoulder. "I actually had a good time too. That jitterbug dance was fun."

Charles glanced sideways and caught a smile on her lips. He knew, that after this night, he would see their instructor in an entirely new light, and he decided to take a chance. He took a deep breath to steady his heart beat. "I know you don't want to hear this, ma'am," he nervously started, "but you look really beautiful tonight."

"Well well, Mr. Magnus," Jack purred, "that's the third time tonight you've complimented my looks. If I didn't know better, I would say that you were coming on to me."

Charles didn't know what to say to that, so he kept his mouth closed and his eyes fixed on the floor in front of him. He was shocked when Jack took his hand into hers, and only just managed not to flinch. Instead, he gave her a shy smile, and she gave him an approving nod in return.

Hand in hand, Charles and Jack made their way through the station's hallways, until they stood in front of Charles' door. The last time, the two of them stood here, had felt like it was in another life, but it was in fact just earlier that night. Jack had ordered him to come to prom with her, and he had tried to avoid it. This time, as he read the familiar inscriptions on his door, he felt bad about his earlier behavior. He had behaved like a child, but now he was thankful, that Jack had decided to drag him to happiness.

As they stood there in front of his door, he started to wonder what Jack was expecting at this point. He could feel his palm getting sweatier and sweatier in Jack's hand, as he played the different scenarios in his head. He mentally scolded himself for some of things he had been thinking. Surely, she wouldn't want him to do _that_.

To his relief, the silence was broken by Prangley and Sophia's giggling, as Charles' classmate carried his engineer girlfriend down the hallway. Charles and Jack quickly released each others' hands and took a step away from one another.

"Ensign Magnus" Prangley greeted. "Miss Jacqueline."

He gave them as good a mock salute he could without dropping his girlfriend, as he passed by.

"It's Miss Jack!" Their instructor corrected, trying to sound as ferocious as possible, but her heart wasn't in it.

Prangley just waved at them and Sophia giggled as he tried to open his door with one of his feet. After a bit of a struggle, Prangley managed to get his door open, and the two of them tumbled inside and closed the door after them.

"Horny teens," Jack muttered. "No offence," she added, as she remembered who she was with.

"None taken," Charles laughed. "We're not all that bad."

"Really?" Jack said with a raised brow. "I seem to remember someone trying to poke a hole in my back on the dance floor."

Charles could feel his face turning bright red, and Jack was now bent over with laughter.

"That was your fault," Charles complained, as he regained his composure. "I blame you," he said and pointed up and down Jack's beautiful body. "That move was quite... Suggestive."

"You're so sweet and innocent," Jack laughed.

Again, Charles had no idea how to respond, and the two of them just stood there for another long period of time, not a word spoken between them.

"Oh, what the hell," Jack finally said and wrapped her arms around Charles' chest in a tight hug. She stood on her toes and gave him a soft kiss on his cheek.

"I really had a good time with you tonight," she whispered in his ear. "Goodnight Magnus."

With those words, she let go of him and hurried off down the hallway, leaving Charles frozen in place. He could do nothing but stare at the place where she had just been, before she disappeared from his line of sight.

-X-X-X-

'What the fuck was that?' Jack thought to herself as she waited for the elevator.

_I force this dude to go with me to a party, that I initially didn't want to go to, just because I think, it would be good for him. Then I pull off some pretty damn provocative dance moves, just to see if I can give him a hard-on. That fucking worked, didn't it?_

The elevator arrived and Jack stepped in, ignoring the young couple making out in the corner.

_Then we fucking hold hands! What the hell is that all about? What am I, twelve years old? And worst of all, I give him that little peck on his cheek. Like I'm his god damn aunt wishing him a merry Christmas!_

Jack truly didn't know what to think as she stepped out of the elevator. She couldn't fool herself though. She knew that there was something about this guy. If there hadn't been, she would never have acted like she did. The thing that really got to her, was that little kiss that she had given him. It was so unlike her.

In the past, if she had liked someone enough to want to have sex with them, she would have just said so and be done with it. With that in mind, she should have just dragged Magnus back to her office and fucked his brains out on her desk. So why hadn't she? He obviously turned her on, but not like all the others. Not in the same way.

She had been perfectly honest, when she told him, that she had enjoyed the party. She really had, but now she was frustrated. She had always been able to make quick decisions about the people she met in her life. Who to kill, who to spare, who to fuck, who to work with, who to hate and who to leave the hell alone.

She had certainly fucked her share of men, women and anything in between. Some willingly, others not so much. She had loved none of them. There had only been one person, who had ever made her question her own intentions, and he was now on trial on earth. She was starting to develop the same kind of feelings for Magnus. She didn't know if she just wanted to have sex with him, or if it was more than that, and it was pissing her off.

She entered her room and threw herself down on her bed with a loud groan.

_How much easier this all could be, if I was my old self. I would have just thrown him up against the wall and had my way with him. Right there, in the middle of the hallway. Hell, back then, I might have just let him have it in the middle of Orion Hall._

_Damn you, Emotional Jack!_

_I need another beer!_

* * *

_A/N_

I want to thank those of you who have favorited 'Biotic Beginnings', and the followers as well. It means a lot to me that there are a few people out there reading my story, and that it's just not me entertaining myself by writing this shit :)

I greatly appreciate that a few of you guys have also taken the time to review my story. As always, if you have critique or questions, I enjoy answering the questions or concerns that you may have. I would certainly also like to invite you to tell me if I make any obvious mistakes.

_Also, welome to any new readers. _

_Okay, with that out of the way. A few words about this, fairly lengthy, chapter._

_As you can probably tell, this 'prom' is a very decisive point for the next part of my story, and I am sure that some of you have already figured out where I'm taking this._

_Charles Magnus' eyes have been opened to the allure of the female gender by the arrival of Oriana, and now Jack has managed to rip him out of his depression, since Oriana left so suddenly. In this chapter, Charles also learns the value of friends, as Prangley comes to his aid._

_Jack on the other hand, is learning what it takes to be a leader figure to her young students. She can still be quirky, but can't allow herself to be as moody and violent as she was earlier. She is taking responsibility and overall just less... insane. But of course, still wonderfully crazy and foul mouthed. Damn, I love to write Jack's POV parts._

_Well, things are getting interesting. Hope you agree._

_Thanks again everybody. You rock!_

_Happy holidays everybody. Enjoy it with your loved ones. DO NOT spend all your time here on ' ', and why would you? My next chapter won't be out in a week or so. Rest easy, you will not be missing anything important :D_

_Happy New Years too!_

- Simon


	17. The Hangover

Chapter 17 - The Hangover

"Ouch," Kurt winced as he dropped himself into a chair in Orion Hall. "I'm never drinking again. My head feels like it's going to explode."

It was midday and the maintenance mechs had managed to make Orion Hall look like it always did. The stage, dance floor and decorations were gone, and all the tables and chairs had been put back in their original positions. There was still an odor of alcohol in the air, and it was making many of the older students nauseous.

"Me too," Reiley agreed and nodded. He quickly stopped moving his head, and held a bag of ice against his temple instead. "Plus, the smell in here is making me want to barf."

"It's horrible," Prangley groaned with his head in his hands. "I don't think I'm hungry anyway."

With a shudder, he slowly rose to his feet, careful to avoid making any sudden movements. "I'm going back to bed," he proclaimed with a yawn, as he stumbled away and out of Orion Hall.

Many of the other students around them were also looking miserable, and Charles had to hide an evil smirk, when he saw Thomas Snow emptying his stomach into a bucket on his lap.

"Where are all the girls?" Reiley asked and turned away, so he wouldn't become sick from watching Mr. Snow throw up. "Eww, that's nasty!"

"Dunno," Charles shrugged, "maybe they're still asleep."

"So, I take it Vera didn't spend the night in your room then?" Kurt said with a cheeky grin to Reiley.

"Sadly, no," Reiley pouted. "You didn't dishonor my sister in any way, did you?"

"Me? No! I would never do that!" Kurt said, trying to sound genuinely insulted, that Reiley would even suggest it. "I have a girlfriend at home, remember?"

"What about you then?" Reiley continued and turned to Charles.

"What about me?" Charles said, one brow raised.

"Did you and Jack go to your room or hers?

"First we went to my room, then I told her 'goodnight', and then she went back to her room," Charles explained. "Nothing else happened."

Kurt made a rude farting noise into the palm his hand. "Boring!" he yelled and took a tiny bite of his breakfast. "At least make something up!"

"Okay. I took her to Ascension Hall, bent Jack over her desk in our classroom and had my way with her. Is that what you want to hear?" Charles laughed.

"Really? Then what happened?" Jack said coldly, as she joined their table.

"I... I'm sorry ma'am," Charles said as his face started to burn bright red. "It was him," he said and pointed to Kurt, "he asked me to make something up."

"Snitch," Kurt muttered under his breath and prepared himself for his fair share of Jack's punishment.

To their great surprise Jack just laughed scornfully and took a sip of the beer, she had brought. "Is my sex life that interesting to you, Mr. Nielsen?" she asked.

"Don't answer that, mate," Reiley warned, to which Kurt quickly agreed.

"Isn't it a bit early for beer, ma'am?" Charles hesitantly asked, eyeing the almost empty bottle in Jack's hand. He found it weird that she would be drinking alcohol, when the rest of them felt like never doing it again. He was also desperately trying to change the subject, before Jack decided to take insult from his made-up sex story.

"It helps," Jack shrugged and finished her beer. "There is only true remedy against hangovers, and that is more alcohol."

"Fighting fire with fire, ma'am?" Kurt grinned.

"Exactly, Nielsen," Jack said seriously, "if I ever taught you anything, let it be to always fight fire with fire. If somebody shoots at you, you shot back. If somebody punches you, you punch them, and most importantly, if some of your students talk about your sex life in Orion Hall, give them detention for a week."

"Crap!" Kurt muttered.

Jack secretly winked at Charles, who could tell that she was only joking.

"Heard through the grapevine that you were in a fight last night, Magnus," Jack said and leaned in closer to Charles, "when did that happen?"

"just after dinner," Charles explained, "and it really wasn't much of a fight. It could have been, but Prangley 'convinced' the other guy, that he would be better off by apologizing to me, about some things he said, before anything happened."

"What did he say?" Jack asked, "this other guy."

"Just some stuff about me not belonging here. You know, because I can't do any biotics," Charles shrugged, trying to make it sound as casual as possible. He didn't mention the things that had been said about Jack. Her face was already a grimace of anger, and he didn't want to upset her further by letting her know, that it had been implied that she was only allowing him to stay in class, because she was sleeping with him.

Upon seeing her reaction, he was glad, that he had left out the parts concerning Jack. Their instructor slammed her hands into the table and jumped to her feet.

"Who's this asshole, who thinks he can talk to my students like that?" she hissed, "Prangley should have fucked him up!"

"I would rather not tell you, ma'am," Charles cautiously said, "I don't want to make it a bigger thing than it already is."

With a loud groan, Jack spun around on her heel and stomped out of Orion Hall in direction of her office. Undoubtedly to get some more beer.

"Probably a good thing you didn't tell her, mate," Kurt said in rare seriousness, "she looked like she was going to kill this guy."

"I thought so," Charles sighed.

"So, who was it?" Reiley curiously asked.

"Thomas Snow."

"Him!" Kurt hissed. "Then you should have told on him. He's one of the biggest assholes I have ever met! I would love to see him begging for Jack to spare his life."

Charles and Reiley laughed, while Kurt maintained a murderous look on his face.

"You really don't like him, huh?" Charles asked, when he noticed the look in his friend's eyes.

"No," Kurt simply said, "he needs to learn when to quit, and that 'no' means no. Vera could tell you more about that. I shouldn't tell you the details."

"I see," Charles said, trying not to think about what Snow could possibly have done to Vera.

"He and Prangley used to be best friends, you know?" Kurt continued, "Ever since they were little kids. They both came to Grissom Academy at a very early age, but when Prangley heard what had happened to Vera, he beat Thomas Snow to a pulp and was damn near expelled for it. He would have been, if he had used his powers, but he just kicked his ass the old fashioned way. Now, they both do their best to avoid the other."

"That's crazy!" Charles said, and looked over Kurt's left shoulder to where Snow was still clinging to his bucket. His face was even greener than his engineer's uniform, and his friends were moving further and further away from him. "From what happened last night, I would never had guessed that the two of them even knew each other."

"As I said, they both pretend that they don't," Kurt said.

"Prangley even told me, that he had only heard of Snow through Sophia," Charles added.

"Makes sense," Reiley contributed, "Prangley is probably in denial. Trying to convince himself and everybody else, that he and Snow were never friends."

"Quite possibly," Kurt agreed.

"At least it looks like Mr. Snow is not enjoying his hangover either," Charles said and nodded in direction of the sick engineer.

"Nor are his friends," Reiley added and laughed, as one of the other combat engineers desperately tried to waft away the smell of vomit.

"I told you, he needs to learn when to quit," Kurt grimly joked.

-X-X-X-

After returning from his midday breakfast with Reiley and Kurt, Charles entered his room and noticed, that he had barely been able to eat anything, and he slumped down on his bed, intending to stay there forever. After a long nap, he woke up and felt slightly better. At least the nausea had subsided, and he was able to move around with only a hint of a wobble.

He wrote a quick message for his parents, who had kindly reminded him, that even though they had declined the Alliance's offer to come visit him in space, they would appreciate it, if he would still update them on his education and anything else that went on in space. Charles honestly didn't know what to write at first. He certainly wasn't going to tell them about his short-lived infatuation with Oriana or his troubles with Thomas Snow. He also didn't want to write another message for them about himself still not being able to perform any of the 'magic', they thought he was there to learn.

If he wrote to them, that he had taken his teacher to a party, and that they had both gotten quite drunk, he knew, that they would be outraged and most likely try to have Jack fired and himself sent back to Earth. The end result was a truthful message, but the details were vague, and he left out every single piece of information, that wouldn't sit well with his parents.

_Dear mom and dad,_

_I'm doing fine._

_I know, how you both feel about space, and I hadn't counted on you visiting Grissom Academy, so don't feel bad about it. I still love you. My classes are getting increasingly advanced, and it's taking its toll on everyone, but the things we learn are important, and I will do my best to improve along with my classmates._

_Speaking of my classmates. I have made some wonderful friends, and I hope that I will be able to bring some of them by the village some time. Yesterday, we had a big party here, which was tons of fun. I have also been on a field trip to the nearby planet Elysium. You guys might like it there. The weather is almost exactly like at home._

_I hope you are well._

_Love you both very much._

_- Charles_

Satisfied that his letter would make his parents happy without revealing anything that might worry them, he sent it off and decided to take a quick shower before dinner.

The boy's bathroom was completely empty, and Charles was fully enjoying the cleansing sensation of the showers. The water seemed to be washing away more than the dirt on his body. His headache was on the retreat, and his mind was temporarily cleared of thoughts about Oriana, Thomas Snow, his parents and his biotics. The only remaining thought in his head was also his latest concern.

Last night had caused him to see Jack in a new light, allowing him to completely forget about Oriana. He knew now, that the amount of alcohol he had consumed had very little to do with his newfound interest in Jack. She had looked truly beautiful and incredibly sexy to him last night, but it was much more than that. His fascination wasn't as much with her enticing appearance, as with what she had done for him. She had shown him a good time and pulled him out of his pathetic misery.

She had forced him to go to a party, even though he had been a stubborn fool about it. She had danced with him and she had given him a cute, little kiss on the cheek at the end of the night. All just because she knew, he needed it. That was also the problem. She had done it to help him, not because she wanted to herself. He was not as foolish as to mistake her charity for love, and he knew that Jack wasn't thinking about him in the same way, that he was now thinking about her. She was just helping out a student.

Even knowing this, Charles couldn't help but fantasize about declaring his love to Jack. He laughed to himself, as he pictured Jack biotically kicking his ass for suggesting something so incredibly inappropriate and stupid.

His experience with Oriana had been painful, but at least he had learned an important lesson: There are other fish in the sea.

Now, all he had to do was to find the 'fish' that would take his mind off his current favorite. Jack.

Suddenly, the door slammed open, and Prangley walked in with Sophia in his arms.

"Sorry, Magnus," Prangley said and used his hand to cover up Sophia's eyes. "We thought it was empty."

"It's fine," Charles said and smiled as he noticed Sophia trying to pry Prangley's strong fingers apart. He quickly turned off his shower, grabbed his ID card and wrapped a towel around his lower body, before she finally managed to peak through. "I was just leaving."

"Thanks man," Prangley said and bumped Charles' fist.

"I owe you a favor, remember," Charles snickered and smirked when he saw the impatient look in Prangley's eyes. "You kids have fun," he added and winked at Sophia before turning to leave the bathroom.

"Oh, by the way," Prangley called, just as Charles was about to exit. "Rodriguez is waiting for you at your room. She wants to talk to you about something. Maybe the two of you can have this bathroom once we're done."

Charles just laughed and shook his head, as he left the two lovers alone.

It was lucky, that Charles' room was so close, because he had forgotten his clothes in the bathroom, and he didn't want to waltz back in there. Who knew, what Prangley and Sophia could be doing by now? Fortunately, the corridors were unusually empty, and Charles managed to make his way back to his room with only a small towel wrapped around his waist without having to endure too many wolf whistles.

As he passed by a group of teenage girls, one of them let out a shriek causing all six girls to turn around and stare at him. Charles did his best to ignore them and just kept walking.

"Decided to air dry, huh?" Vera laughed, as he stepped up to his door. She had been patiently waiting outside.

"Forgot clothes... Prangley and Sophia... Showers" Charles mumbled as he fiddled with his ID card.

"Yeah right," Vera snorted, "you're just trying to impress the ladies."

"What makes you say that?"

"Your fan club," Vera said and nodded in direction of something over his right shoulder.

Charles slowly turned around and saw the heads of six familiar looking teenage girls peeping around the corner. When they saw him looking, the six heads quickly disappeared and muffled giggling was heard from their hiding spot.

He turned around again, and caught Vera looking at his butt.

"Not you as well," he sighed.

"Hey! I'm only a woman," Vera shrugged and gave him a wry grin, "besides, you're the one walking around with a skimpy little towel on your hips. You're asking for it."

Charles moved to swipe his ID card, so he could get into his room and put on some clothes, but Vera blocked his way.

"Don't be such a tease, Magnus," she grinned and nodded in the direction of the six girls, who had dared to stick their heads around the corner again, "give them a show!"

"Are you kidding me?" Charles said and tried to get around her. Vera put a soft hand on his chest and gave him a hard push backwards. Her biotic aura flared for just a second, as she put some extra power into her effort. "What do you mean? A show?" he whispered to her, slightly surprised that she would break the 'no biotics outside of class'-rule just to embarrass him.

"You know. Flex your muscles a bit or something," Vera said and bit her bottom lip, as she ran her fingers down his bicep. "Or you can just stand there. I'm not sure those girls can take much more raw masculinity, before we'll have to call in the maintenance mechs to wipe the drool of the floor in this hallway."

"If they want a show, they should go the bathroom I just came from. I imagine Prangley and Sophia can provide more entertainment, than I can," Charles laughed. "Can I get in my room now, please?"

"Oh, okay then," Vera agreed, "only because you asked politely."

Charles grabbed her wrist and had to forcefully remove her hand from his arm. "Somebody likes the muscular men," he chuckled and opened his door. "You probably wouldn't have done that, if I hadn't spent so much time in the gym, since I got here."

"Guilty," Vera confessed, "but that's hardly a secret. You've seen the posters in my room, Magnus. Did they look like choirboys or accountants to you?"

"No," Charles said, as he remembered the testosterone wallpaper that seemed to cover Vera's walls from floor to ceiling. He stepped into his room and closed the door behind him. Quickly, he threw on a pair of sweatpants and an old t-shirt, and opened the door to allow Vera access.

"What did you want to talk about?" he said and sat down on his chair, motioning for his guest to take a seat on the bed opposite.

"I heard about what happened with Thomas Snow," Vera started and took the seat she was offered. "I know from personal experience, that he can be quite nasty, so I just came to see how you were."

"Vera," Charles said and looked into her eyes. "I'm fine. Prangley made sure it was never more than mean words. Those I can handle."

"Good," Vera sighed and closed her eyes.

Charles didn't know what to do. He knew that Vera had had an unpleasant experience with Snow, and he was touched, that she would check up on him to make sure, that he was doing okay, but it seemed like it was Vera, who needed someone to talk to.

When he saw a tear starting to form in the otherwise cheery girls' eye, he decided to take a chance. He grabbed her hands, and held them between his. "Want to talk about it?"

"You know?" Vera sobbed.

Charles shook his head. "Not really. Kurt just told me that something happened between you and Snow, that caused Prangley to snap on his best friend. If you don't want to talk about it, that is perfectly fine."

At first Vera was reluctant to share. But soon after, it all came bursting out in a stream of tears.

Vera explained, how Snow had lured her into his room, and how he had then locked the door and ripped her uniform off.

"He-He t-touched me," she sobbed. "In different places."

"What happened then?" Charles asked, fighting hard to keep his voice calm, when all he wanted to do was to run out, find Snow and strangle him to death.

"I managed to fight him off and made a run for it," Vera said and dried her eyes.

"How is that monster still a student here?" Charles asked, completely baffled by the lack of justice.

"Just before this happened, there had been a large number of false rape claims on the station, so when I came along, they didn't take it seriously, and I had no proof."

"I'm sorry, Vera," Charles said and wiped a tear from her eye. "It sounds like the old saying. Don't cry 'wolf'."

"Yes," Vera agreed. "It really sucks when it's somebody else crying 'wolf', and then nobody believes you, when it actually happens."

"And then Prangley took justice into his own hands?" Charles asked.

"Yes," Vera said and started to cry again. "He attacked his best friend and almost got himself expelled, just to avenge me, which is why I will often defend him, when people call him things like 'asshole' or 'idiot', even if he's behaving like one. Kurt likes to tease me, saying that I just like him because of the muscles, but he knows how I really feel."

"I can understand that," Charles said, "I like him much better for what he did last night too, and that doesn't even begin to compare to what happened to you."

"I'm glad to hear, that Prangley didn't actually hurt Snow this time around. I don't want him to get in trouble again," Vera said, but couldn't hide her worry that Prangley might still be punished for attacking Snow once again.

"You don't have to worry about Jack," Charles laughed softly in an attempt to lighten the mood. "I told her about what Snow said last night, I even left out the worst, and she still had murder in her eyes. You probably shouldn't talk to her about what he did to you. She would snap and murder all men."

Vera wiped her eyes, which had become red from all the tears, and gave a small laugh. "Thank you, Charles. For talking to me."

"Anytime, Vera," Charles said and gave her a hug.

There was a moment's silence between them, before Charles' curiosity got the better of him. "So, we know you like the muscular men, and you have a history with Jason Prangley. Are you jealous of Sophia?"

Vera laughed. "Not at all. For the most part, I find him just as annoying and smug as everybody else. I can't understand, how Sophia can take it. He must be good in bed," she speculated. "I will never forget, what he risked for me, but I don't want to spend more time with him, than I already am. Though, I have to admit, that he's become a lot less obnoxious in the last few months."

Charles breathed a deep sigh. "Are you telling me, that I am experiencing Prangley in his most pleasant form?"

"I would say so," Vera giggled. "I think it's Jack. She pushes him to his limits. She may actually have his respect. He can be so much worse."

"Then I hope, Jack stays here until I'm done," Charles said, fearfully imagining Prangley without any figure of authority.

"Speaking of Jack," Vera grinned, "what are your intentions toward our dear instructor?"

"What do you mean?" Charles shrugged, trying to keep his facial expression as neutral as possible.

"Don't play games with me, Magnus," she warned. "Remember, I am a hopeless romantic. You can't fool me. Do you like her?"

"She is my teacher, that's it," Charles denied.

"That's not fair," Vera pouted. "I tell you my most valuable secret, and you're lying to me," she said, sounding genuinely hurt.

Charles felt ashamed, and mentally scolded himself. In the bathroom, he had been honest and admitted to himself that he had a crush on Jack, and now he was lying to one of his best friends, who had just poured out her deepest, darkest secret to him.

"I'm sorry," he muttered. "You're right. I lied."

"So you do like her," Vera said, immediately sounding much more cheerful.

Charles nodded slowly, but couldn't bring himself to meet her gaze.

"Have you told her?" Vera asked, her eyes sparkling with glee.

"No, and I'm not going to."

"Why not?"

"There are so many reasons," Charles  
sighed, "she's my teacher, she doesn't feel the same way I do, and she's much older than me."

Vera shook her head. "Your reasons are crap," she interrupted, "yes, Jack is your teacher, but you shouldn't let that get in your way, if you really like her. Maybe she does feel the same way you do. You never know, until you reveal your feelings to her."

Charles sighed. "But she's still much older than me."

"So," Vera said. "Why is that even an issue? If you like her, and she likes you, I don't see the problem. Just how old do you think she is?"

"Honestly, I haven't got a clue," Charles shrugged.

"See, you're just making up problems without knowing the facts," Vera said and crossed her arms. "I wouldn't be surprised if she wasn't as old as you probably think."

"Maybe," Charles said nervously and thought about, what Vera had said. She was right. He was overcomplicating things, and making excuses not to take a chance. "But what about everybody else? They will all think, that I am hooking up with Jack for personal gain. That the only reason I haven't been pulled from the Ascension Project, is because I have seduced the teacher into letting me stay."

Vera huffed and rolled her eyes. "Screw everybody else! What makes you think that anyone would suspect you of doing that?"

"Something Thomas Snow told me," Charles answered.

"And you're going to listen to that creep?" Vera growled angrily and rose from his bed. "If you'd take his advise over mine when it comes to love, we have nothing more to talk about."

"Of course not," Charles said, as he gently pushed her back onto his bed. "I'm sorry. You're right. Screw everybody else."

They looked into each other's eyes for a second, before they both started laughing. Charles had never discussed his feelings like this with anyone before, and he found it liberating to be able to share his thoughts.

"Your turn," Charles said, as he was able to finally stop laughing. "Is there anyone here at the Academy, that you like? Reiley perhaps?"

She shook her head. "No. Reiley is sweet, but I don't feel anything in my stomach, when I look at him. It's a gut feeling thing, you know. With this, I trust my instincts."

"You mean he's not muscular enough for your exquisite taste?" Charles teased.

Vera laughed and punched him playfully in the arm. "Asshole," she got out between giggles.

"Or are you still waiting for Commander Shepard to ride in on a white stallion?" Charles joked and had to block a few more punches.

"You've been hanging out with Kurt too much," Vera sighed and rose from the bed to give him a hug. "Thank you for the talk, Charles. Remember what I told you, about Jack."

"Will do," Charles promised and returned her embrace.

-X-X-X-

Jack had tried to find out on her own, who Ensign Magnus had been assaulted by, but none of the people she asked had been willing or able to give her an answer. At this point, she had given up, and decided to follow her student's wish to not escalate the situation. Every fiber in her told her, that she should find this punk and teach him a lesson, but she knew, that if she did, she would surely be putting her teaching career on the line.

She punched the wall in frustration and threw herself down on her bed. Caring about other peoples' feelings, namely her students', was proving to be much harder than she would have ever guessed. She had always thought of empathy as a sign of weakness and dependency, but she knew now, that in fact it was much harder to be empathic than to be uncaring and coldhearted.

The concept of having friends and loved ones had always been a mystery to Jack, at least until she joined the Normandy crew. Previously, she had always seen it as a weakness to be exploited. It was magnificent. The things you could get a man to do, if he believed that you would kill his wife and children, if he didn't. With that in mind, she had always made sure never to get to close to her fellow gang members, and always been prepared to leave them in an instant, so nobody could ever use them against her. Shepard and his crew had taught her the value of trust and friendship, and the way she had been trying to help Mr. Magnus lately, those lessons had stuck in her mind.

She was beginning to think, that last night had been one big mistake. She had been foolish to go to prom with a student, not to mention the fact that she had made it all worse by dancing with him, like she did and giving him that little auntie kiss on the cheek, as they parted ways. She was afraid, that Magnus had misinterpreted her behavior and think, that she was trying to seduce him.

Was she trying to seduce him? She certainly liked him, but she also liked to think, that she had better control of her emotions, though she knew, that she in fact, way too often, had been driven by her impulses. Mostly to do harm to people, who had pissed her off without having to think about it first. Fighting on a rush of rage was bliss, but on the Normandy and in her new job at the academy she needed a tighter rein on her emotions to function properly.

No, she convinced herself. She wasn't trying to seduce Charles Magnus. She was almost sure, that she wasn't.

Jack moaned and burrowed her face in her pillow. Once again, she cursed Magnus for the way, he made her feel and screamed her lungs out into the pillow. She knew, she had to talk to him. She had to make it clear to him, that she hadn't meant anything by the stuff, she did the night before. She had to do this, even if she didn't believe it herself.

There was just one problem. She didn't think she could go through with it. She was sure, that if she stood in front of him, her emotions would betray her, and she would mess up the entire thing. No. She couldn't do it to his face. With a heavy sigh, she lifted herself off of the bed and walked over to her desk. She took a deep breath and activated her intercom.

-X-X-X-

Charles came back from dinner with Kurt and Vera, intending to go straight to bed. His nausea was now completely gone, and he had managed to eat a healthy portion of salad, but his thundering headache told him, that he needed some sleep.

"Pathetic," Charles whispered to himself as he undressed. His father had always told him, that a man should be able to shoulder his hangovers, and he would have been utterly disappointed by the state his son had been in this entire day.

Just as Charles had crawled under the covers, his intercom started to beep, causing Charles to jolt.

"Bloody hell," he panted, as he tried to calm his heartbeat from the shock he had gotten.

He took a few more calming breaths before activating the intercom. "Yes?"

_"Mr. Magnus, this is Jack," _his teacher's familiar voice came through the loudspeaker.

"Good evening, ma'am," Charles said and yawned silently. "What can I do for you?"

_"We need to talk,"_ Jack said seriously.

"Sure," Charles said and felt his heartbeat rising again. "What did you want to talk about?"

_"Last night"_

Charles closed his eyes and took a deep breath. This could be his chance to reveal his feelings to Jack, like Vera had suggested he did. Even though he wanted to do it, Charles was having trouble mustering the courage to carry it out.

_"I think I owe you an apology,"_ Jack continued, _"I shouldn't have gone to prom with you, Mr. Magnus."_

"Not at all, ma'am," Charles bravely interrupted. "Like I told you last night, I needed it, and I really had fun. I could never allow you to apologize for that."

_"In any case," _Jack said and cleared her throat, _"I did some things with you last night, that I shouldn't have. Like all the dancing, holding hands and... ahem.. other things. It was inappropriate and unprofessional. For that, I am sorry."_

"Don't be," Charles said, gobsmacked to hear Jack apologizing for inappropriate behavior. That was certainly an unexpected turn of events. "As I said, I had fun."

_"So did I," _Jack admitted, _"fuck the apologies then. Actually, I just wanted to make sure, that you didn't put too much into some of the things, that happened last night."_

"I won't," Charles promised, and even though he had been sure, that Jack had only done the things, she did to cheer him up, he still felt a pang of sadness, as he heard her confirm his suspicions. Apparently, he had been transparent enough, for Jack to tell, that he had fallen for her, which was why she was calling him to make sure, that he knew, that she hadn't meant anything by it.

_"Good," _Jack sighed, _"I was worried, that you thought, that I was coming on to you."_

"Of course not, ma'am," Charles said, trying to keep his voice calm.

_"Good, 'cause it's not like I think you're cute or anything like that," _Jack joked, imitating Vera's voice as she pronounced the word 'cute'. Even though Charles knew, that Jack was making a joke, it still agonized him to hear his secret crush confirm, that she wasn't attracted to him. He managed to get out a hollow laughter, but it sounded hopelessly fake to his own ears, so he quickly stopped.

_"I'll see you in class tomorrow, Ensign Magnus," _Jack said in an all-business voice, _"get some sleep. We're hitting the gym."_

"Aye, ma'am," Charles acknowledged and turned off his intercom.

He breathed a heavy sigh and settled down in his bed again. There was no reason for him to reveal his feelings to Jack now. She had already given him her answer.

She wasn't feeling the same way.

Not at all.

* * *

A/N

Happy New Year everyone! I wish you all the best in 2013.

As always. Thank you for reading 'Biotic Beginnings', and I do appreciate your reviews and PM's. They make me feel nice and warm on the inside, and they give me a lot of ideas for the story, so keep it up.

Peace out!

- Simon


	18. Liars And Thieves

Chapter Eighteen - Liars And Thieves

Jack was awakened by the annoying sound of her doorbell. It was way too early for her to get up.

'Who the fuck dares to disturb me this early?' Jack thought and rolled out of her bed with a loud groan.

She quickly pulled on her uniform and checked her hair and makeup in the mirror. Satisfied that she looked as presentable as possible at this unforgivable hour, she stepped out of her private chamber and into her office. The insistent howling of the doorbell continued, as Jack stopped in front of her door.

"Alright I'm up!" Jack roared and rubbed her eyes tiredly. If this wasn't extremely important, she wouldn't just kill whoever was at her door, she would make them suffer.

She tapped the interface, and the door opened to reveal the person, who had interrupted her beauty sleep.

Her breath got caught in her throat, and there was a rolling feeling in her stomach, when her sleepy eyes, still trying to adjust to being open, recognized the features of her prom date.

Ensign Magnus was dressed in his blue suit, and he gave her a wry smile, as she blinked her eyes disbelievingly. He took a step forward, placing himself directly under her door, as if he wanted to make sure, that she would be unable to close it again. Yeah, like she would ever close the door, when he was looking like that.

"Magnus, what are you doing here?" Jack whispered hoarsely, completely forgetting to throw in a curse word for good measure.

He continued to smile at her, but said nothing. He just stared into her eyes with a sensitive look on his face. He reached out and grabbed her hands in his. Without warning, he stepped closer, and his lips met hers passionately. For a brief second, Jack resisted, but once she had recovered from the surprise, she eagerly wrapped her arms around Magnus' neck and deepened the kiss. His hands caressed her back and her sides, as Jack's ruffled his brown hair.

Jack realized, that she had been holding her breath this entire time, and she desperately needed oxygen. Even so, she still moaned disapprovingly, when Magnus eventually pulled away from the kiss with a gentle tug to her bottom lip. They both panted softly in each other's arms, and Jack stared into his deep, blue eyes, and she felt her entire body painfully longing for more.

"I love you, Jack," Magnus whispered, as she impatiently started to unbutton his Jacket.

"Mmm" Jack moaned and threw his Jacket over her desk and into the corner of her office.

Not even bothering to close the door, she grabbed him by his tie and dragged him over to the desk. She kicked away a chair to make some more room and used a little bit of her biotic power to push him up against the desk. Magnus willingly took a seat on her desk, conveniently making his lips much easier for Jack to reach, and she violently pounced on him, causing him to fall backwards until he was trapped with his back against the tabletop and Jack sitting across his abdomen.

He laughed softly against her lips, as his hands took a hold of her hips. Jack could feel him breathing heavily from her position on top of his heaving stomach, and his excitation ignited her passion even more.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

"For fuck's sake!" Jack roared and biotically smashed her alarm clock against the wall. "Shit! shit! shit! SHIT!" she screamed, as she punched her pillow.

This had been her third dream about Ensign Magnus that night, and Jack had been fooled every single time. This last one had seemed particularly real. All three times, she had woken up, just when things had started to heat up between her and Magnus. On one hand, she had been disappointed. She couldn't deny the lust and passion, she had felt. Even if it were just dreams. She had wanted them to continue, at least so she could see, what would happen on that desk, or, as it had been the case in her two previous dreams, what would happen on her bed or in the middle of Orion Hall during prom night.

On the other hand, she was furiously angry with herself. She had decided, that she wouldn't act on these stupid things, that appeared in her head, every time she thought of _him. _Apparently, she had absolutely no self control when it came to Magnus, and it angered her endlessly.

"Damn it!" She cursed again and rose from her bed. Why couldn't she get him out of her head?

She brushed her teeth with excessive force and threw on her uniform before venturing out into her office. She briefly glanced at the desk and the corner, where she had tossed Magnus' jacket in the dream, but of course, nothing seemed to be out of place. Jack mentally scolded herself for her silliness and walked out the door. Her destination, Orion Hall. Breakfast.

After inhaling a bowl of cereal, she marched back to Ascension Hall and into the gym, where she found her six students waiting for her. Several of them smiled and greeted her, but she angrily ignored their civilities. She dared a glance at Magnus, who hadn't even lifted his head, as she entered the room. For a second, Jack was convinced, that he looked sad and red-eyed, as if he had been crying, but she quickly shrugged it off. He was probably just tired.

He had said it himself last night. He hadn't thought, that she had been flirting with him, and therefore, had no reason to be sad, just because she had told him that she wasn't. A part of her still interpreted Magnus' pained expression as a sign, that she had somehow broken his heart last night, but the rest of her mind knew, that he probably didn't even think of her as anything more than a teacher, and that the little part of Jack that thought otherwise had gone completely fucking mental.

He was just tired, Jack decided and took a few calming breaths before starting her class.

Four hours later, when most of her students all lay flat on the backs on the gym floor completely depleted of biotic power, only Magnus and Prangley were still standing, though the latter was swaying dangerously. Once again, Jack was impressed by the power and stamina of Ensign Prangley. He sure was a gifted biotic, and she knew that this, combined with his physical prowess and his sheer will and determination, would one day make him one of the best human biotics. Maybe he already was. 'Hell, he may even be better than me one day,' Jack thought. "Nah," she muttered under her breath. Nobody would ever be better than her.

In all modesty, she had only met a few asari, with whom she wouldn't be happy to compare biotic strength, Samara being one of them. The asari were natural biotics, and many had had hundreds of years of practice. Even so, only a handful of them had managed to impress Jack, and no human had ever come close. She respected Jacob, Alenko and even, no especially, Miranda for their abilities, but she knew, that she would tear them all apart in a biotics-only fight. There was no point in denying it, she probably was the number one strongest human biotic, but as she assessed the tired but determined look in Prangley's eyes, she had a strong feeling, that she was looking at the second best. At least he could be. In a couple of years.

Magnus, of course, hadn't been tired out at all. He had hardly broken a sweat, since he had only been helping his classmates. Jack had noticed, how he had tried to do the same things as everybody else a few times, but he had been unsuccessful, and quickly he just stopped trying.

'Poor guy,' Jack thought and felt tempted to hugging and kissing the unhappy student.

_What the hell is this? Enough with all this crap about hugging and kissing! And even holding hands! Fuck that shit!_

'Just kill me now' Jack prayed to a god, that she had never believed in and decided, that it was time for more drastic measures. If she couldn't control her own thoughts, whenever she looked at Charles, she had to do something. The rest of her class shouldn't have to suffer with a distracted instructor, just because she couldn't control her damn emotions.

"Lunch!" she called out, and stomped towards the door.

Moaning and groaning was heard from the students on the floor, but Jack didn't look back, as she stormed out of the gym.

With determination in her step and in her face, she marched down the corridor, until she stood in front of Sanders' office. Impatiently, she knocked the door, completely forgetting about the doorbell.

"Come in," Sanders chirped, as the door opened. "Oh, hello Jack. What can I do for you?"

-X-X-X-

"Waff off it ju?" Prangley asked Charles, spraying bits of his semi-chewed lunch all over their table.

"Excuse me?" Charles said and brushed a piece of meat off of his uniform.

Prangley swallowed and took a drink of water. "Sorry," he said and picked some salad out of Vera's hair. "I probably should have finished eating first."

"Yeah, say it, don't spray it," Kurt laughed and removed some masticated beef from his forehead.

"I said, what's up with you?" Prangley explained, as he tried to ignore his classmates, who where theatrically diving under the table and away from him, as he opened his mouth to speak. "You're not eating anything."

"I'm fine," Charles shrugged, "besides, you're on your fifth tray, so let's just say, that you're eating for both of us."

"You don't sound fine, mate," Kurt said, as he recovered from under the table.

"Well, I am," Charles insisted, trying to keep the irritation out of his voice, but he knew, he wasn't fooling anyone."

"Is it the biotics?" Seanne asked cautiously, "there wasn't much for you to do in the gym today."

"Yes," Charles lied, "the biotics."

Vera gave him a knowing look and mouthed the word that was really affecting his mood. "Jack?"

Charles gave a slight nod, that only Vera noticed, and returned his attention to his fork, which he was poking pointlessly in and out of his pasta dish. "So Prangley, how can you eat so much?" he asked, trying to switch the subject of their conversation. "The rest of you too," he added, as he noticed, that they had all emptied at least three trays.

"When you strain your biotics over a long period of time, like we did this morning, it takes a lot of energy," Reiley explained.

"A lot," Prangley emphasized and started to work on his sixth tray.

"Fatigued biotics will need to eat much more, than what would normally be healthy to get their energy levels back up," Vera continued. "Lieutenant Sanders did some tests with us last year, to see how much energy we required."

"Our big friend here once took in more than thirty five thousand calories in one meal," Reiley laughed and slapped Prangley, who was still eating, on the back.

"It was glorious," Prangley said dreamily, being extra careful not to spit out anymore of his food.

"Wow," Charles whistled, genuinely surprised, "that's... Insane."

"You'll see," Kurt said and placed a comforting hand on Charles' shoulder, "your biotics will kick in soon, and then you might be able to match Prangley's record."

Charles pushed out a humorless laugh and a forced smile, as he gentle pulled away from Kurt's touch. "Thanks, but I'm trying not to get my hopes up."

It was uncomfortable for Charles to be sitting amongst his classmates, who, good friends as they were, tried to cheer him up. But for once, his lack of biotic powers had diddly squat to do with his dreariness. None of them, except for Vera, knew, that he was actually upset, because he was tragically in love with their instructor.

A soft, sudden beep was heard and Vera pulled out her omni-tool.

"Hmm," she said and scratched her temple. "This afternoon's classes have been cancelled."

"Why?" Kurt asked.

"I don't know, doesn't say," Vera shrugged and showed them all the text message, she had received from Head Director Sanders. "It just says that we have the rest of the afternoon off."

"Weird," the twins muttered in unison.

"Maybe something's wrong with Jack," Prangley offered, as he finally put down his cutlery.

"What makes you say that?" Kurt whispered quietly, not wanting to get caught talking about Jack's personal business two days in a row. That would be pushing his luck.

"Didn't she seem a bit... different today?" Prangley asked. Vera gave Charles a quick glance, but he immediately turned his attention to something next to Prangley's right ear.

"Maybe. A bit," Seanne conceded. Kurt and Reiley nodded in agreement.

"And the way she stormed out of the gym," Prangley speculated. "It must have something to do with Jack."

"Couldn't tell you," Kurt shrugged, " I was seeing stars and trying not to pass out. I was so knackered."

"Us too," the twins admitted.

"Well, I'm hitting the gym anyway," Prangley said and rose from the table with his tower of trays.

"Again?" Kurt said disbelievingly.

"Sure," Prangley grinned victoriously. "I'm crazy like that."

"You're crazy alright," Kurt muttered, as soon as Prangley was out of earshot.

Seanne checked something on her omni-tool and nudged her brother in the side. "We should call mom and dad," she told him and pointed to some numbers on her omni-tool. "They probably just got off work."

Reiley nodded. "Yeah, it's been a while since we talked."

"See you later," Seanne said to Charles, Vera and Kurt, as she and Reiley got up to leave.

"I've downloaded 'The Hanar Who Loved Me'" Kurt told Charles and Vera after a moment's silence. "Want to go watch it in my room?"

"A Blasto movie?" Vera asked with disgust in her voice.

"C'mon, they're kind of fun," Kurt argued, "You just have to not take them too seriously."

"Great," Vera sighed, "lowering my IQ so I can enjoy a movie about a stupid jellyfish."

"That's kinda racist, Rodriguez," Kurt laughed.

"Please," Vera said, "those movies are filled to the brim with jellyfish jokes, but if I make one, I'm a racist?"

"I've also got 'Vaenia', 'Fleet and Flotilla' and 'Asari Confessions 26: True Blue'," Kurt offered.

"That last one sounds like porn," Vera complained.

"Soft-core," Charles specified, before he could stop himself.

Vera smirked at him. "You've seen it?"

"By accident," Charles replied lamely as he blushed from head to toe.

"Sure," Kurt snickered. "Any good, though?"

Charles shrugged, not wanting to embarrass himself further.

"'Asari Confessions' goes in the wank bank then," Kurt stated shamelessly, earning a disgusted glare from Vera.

"Creep," she hissed and looked at Charles, who had tried to make himself as small as possible. "You too," she said and pointed her finger judgmentally.

"It's just porn, girl," Kurt defended. "Soft-core even."

Vera just gave him her best death glare, which immediately shut him up. "We will watch 'Fleet and Flotilla'," she decided. "And we will do it in my room, 'cause I am never setting foot in either of you perverts' rooms ever again."

"I'll rather just go to my room, I need some time alone," Charles said.

"No way," Vera said and grabbed his arm tightly. "You're coming with us."

Soon after, the three of them where sat in Vera's room watching 'Fleet and Flotilla'. Charles enjoyed the movie, which was about the forbidden love between a turian soldier and quarian engineer, and it helped him keep his mind off Jack. When the credits rolled, Vera was crying uncontrollably over the last scene, where the turian had helped the quarian reclaim her home world, and the two of them had lived there happily ever after.

"We should have gone with the asari porn," Kurt joked and offered her a napkin. "Always go with the asari porn! It makes you do a lot of crazy shit, but it never makes you cry."

"Shut up!" Vera sobbed and punched him in the arm. "This was beautiful. Don't ruin it with your nasty, blue tentacle porn."

-X-X-X-

"What you can do for me?" Jack repeated angrily, as she stepped into Sanders' office. "You can throw Ensign Magnus off the project!"

"Why?" Sanders said, sounding shocked. She got to her feet and walked around her desk. "What happened? What has he done?"

"Nothing," Jack said, "that's the problem! He still can't do shit, and I think it's better for him and the others, if we could just stop being so fucking childish and realize, that he probably never will be able to do shit."

"That's not fair, Jack" Sanders said heatedly. "We will not give up on Charles Magnus. He doesn't leave this station, until he decides it is time to go."

"Then you'll have to accept my resignation," Jack desperately threatened. "If he is here, I can't be."

Lieutenant Sanders angrily shook her head. "I will not accept your resignation, and I will not cut Charles Magnus from the program! What is the matter with you?"

"Raargh!" Jack roared and flung one of the head director's guest chairs at the wall.

"Jack! It's an inanimate fucking object!" Sanders shouted and pointed to the crumbled pieces of metal, that had once been one of her guest chairs.

"You're an inanimate fucking object!" Jack roared back and kicked the chair, ignoring the pain that jolted through her foot.

The was a minute's silence, where no sound was heard except for the panting of the two women.

"I'm sorry, Kahlee," Jack muttered and picked up the chair. She tried to put the pieces back together, but she was utterly unsuccessful. She looked up and met Kahlee's gaze, which, surprisingly, was very happy.

"You.. You called me Kahlee," she stuttered, "and I didn't even have to ask you to."

"I guess," Jack shrugged. "Are you going to sack me?"

"Never," Kahlee said and sat back down in her chair, "you can't just come in here, beg me to accept your resignation, and then expect me to sack you, just because you break my furniture."

"Balls," Jack sighed and plopped down in the remaining guest chair.

"Watch it," Kahlee warned and rattled the swear jar, that stood on her desk.

"You swore too," Jack retorted.

"When?"

"Just before. You said 'fucking'."

"Well, let's not get hung up on who said what," Kahlee laughed and put the swear jar away.

Jack snorted. "Figures."

"Why are you so riled up about Ensign Magnus all of a sudden?" Kahlee asked curiously. "Do you really think, I should kick him off the station?"

"No," Jack admitted and dropped her head.

"Then what?"

"Nothing," Jack sighed. "I'm just throwing a fit. Call it PMS, or whatever you want."

"Are you having cramps?" Kahlee asked seriously.

"Yes," Jack lied.

"Go rest," Kahlee ordered. "I'll cancel the rest of today's classes."

"Are you sure?" Jack asked and got to her feet.

"Positive."

"I'm really sorry about the chair," Jack muttered and pointed to the heap of metal in the corner, "you can just deduct the cost from my salary."

"Never mind," Kahlee dismissed, "I needed to get some new ones anyway."

"See you later then," Jack said and stepped out of the office. "Sorry, Kahlee," she yelled, before the door closed.

_Damn it!_

Her drastic measure had failed, and now she was forced to come up with something even more drastic. Anything that would stop her from fantasizing about Magnus all the time. Anything that would allow her to continue to teach her classes without either feeling sorry for him and wanting to comfort him, or just wanting to rip his clothes off.

_Fuck!_

She swiped her ID card and took a seat on the office floor. It felt like a sit-on-the-floor moment, but she couldn't take her eyes off her desk, and certainly not her mind off the things that had been about to go down on that desk, when she had been mercilessly pulled back to reality by her alarm clock.

_Shit!_

Like a pathetic toddler, she crawled on her hands and knees into her private room, where she opened the fridge and pulled out a beer. A new plan had to be devised. Alcohol was definitely needed.

-X-X-X-

Charles groaned as he slumped down on his bed. Watching an interspecies romance vid with his two best friends had proven surprisingly effective as a means to forget about Jack, but as he figured out on the walk back to his own room, the effect was only temporary. Already, as he passed through Orion Hall, his thoughts had been back to Jack in her white dress, enticingly rubbing her herself against him on the dance floor.

It was unfair, Charles thought, that the first two women he had ever fancied had either left or didn't feel the same way about him. Was love always this painful? Why would people willingly enter a game that hurt that much? What was the payoff? Was it really worth it?

Charles started to wonder, if what he was feeling really was love. He had very little experience himself, but love had always been described to him as a magical fairytale. Maybe the agony he had felt lately was in fact something else, it sure didn't feel like a fairytale.

The turian and the quarian in the vid had it rough too, but at least he loved her, and she loved him back. It was the two of them against the world, but they were able to conquer all, because they had each other. Charles' situation seemed infinitely different. If he was the turian soldier, Jack, his quarian engineer, wanted nothing to do with him, and thus he was left to fight the world on his own. Surely, he would fail.

No. What he was feeling couldn't be love. He didn't want it to be. At least he wanted to remain in the delusion, that love was a beautiful thing, supposed to make you feel happy and strong.

Charles knew, that he couldn't blame Jack for not returning his love. However, he was mad at himself for not being able to push her out of his mind. It was excruciatingly painful and obviously unhealthy. He was not eating as he should, and he had, for the first time since his arrival at Grissom Academy, not even looked at his homework.

Suddenly, his doorbell chimed and pulled him out of his meditative sadness. Charles rolled over on his bed, not wanting to talk to anyone at that moment. Only Vera knew what he was going through, and he didn't even want to talk to her right now.

'Go away,' he thought as the doorbell continued its insistent attempts to get his attention.

Finally, Charles let out a hopeless sigh and got off his bed to open the door. It didn't seem like his guest was the kind of person who took no for an answer.

As the door swooshed upwards and revealed an angry-looking Instructor, Charles breathed another, even more despondent, sigh and lowered his head. Jack was the one, he wanted to talk to least of all.

Scraping together the last broken pieces of his dignity, he looked Jack in the eyes and gave her a proper, but endlessly unemotional greeting.

"Good evening, ma'am," he muttered.

Jack said nothing, but just frowned at him, as if he had just offended her in some way. Charles started to wonder, why she was looking at him like that. He couldn't remember anything he had done lately, that would cause Jack to be angry. Well, at least not angrier than usual, which she certainly seemed to be now.

"Is something wrong, ma'am?" he tested, but she just continued to stare at him.

Charles looked down his uniform, just to make sure that he wasn't pissing Jack off by looking inappropriate in any way, but he found that he was dressed to Ascension Project specifications.

He tried again.

"Ma'am, can I help you with anythi.."

He was brutally interrupted as Jack grabbed his head with both hands and forcefully pulled it down to hers. Without warning, she pressed her lips against his, and her tongue forced its way into his mouth, where it mercilessly dominated his own, before roaming around, seemingly trying to map out every single tooth.

It was wet. Very wet! And Charles' first real kiss was nothing like what he had expected it to be. Maybe it was because of the surprise, but Charles sure didn't feel like he was contributing in any way. Jack had conquered his mouth, while he just stood there with his arms hanging awkwardly down his sides and his eyes completely open. The first kiss itself didn't feel as romantic as Charles had thought it would. It felt weird and tasted even weirder, a bit like asari beer, which Jack had undoubtedly had, but it wasn't unpleasant. Not in the least.

Jack slowly opened her eyes and met his gaze, as she pulled her mouth away from his. She still had both her hands on the sides of his neck, and there was a look in her eyes, that Charles had never seen before. Not on anyone. It was sensitivity, lust and vulnerability all mixed into one, and Charles knew, as from instinct, that this was definitely a good thing.

"I thought you didn't think I was cute?" He joked lamely, mentally kicking himself.

Jack smiled and gently slapped his right cheek. "I lied."

Charles continued to stare into her dark eyes, knowing that he could pass out any second from all the emotions going through his body. He didn't care at all, that they were still standing in his doorway, and that, if anyone had been in the corridor, they would have seen him kissing his teacher. Or rather, him being kissed by his teacher.

"You know, when someone kisses you, the least you could do is kiss them back, Magnus," Jack huskily whispered as she nibbled at his earlobe.

"Sorry, not a lot of experience," Charles admitted.

"Well, we'll have to work on that," Jack said and rand her fingers down the bridge of his nose and over his lips. "Or maybe you don't like me? You never said anything!"

"I guess I kinda lied as well," Charles smirked.

"Hah," Jack laughed, "we're both liars and thieves."

"Thieves, ma'am?" Charles said, pretending to be insulted. "I know you used to be a bad girl, but I never stole anything."

"I'll always be a bad girl," Jack purred, licked her lips and moved her hands down his back until they rested on his butt, immediately proving her point. "And you are a thief, 'cause you stole my heart," she said theatrically and gave his lower cheeks a squeeze.

Charles couldn't hold back his laughter. "Stole your heart," he repeated, "wow, that's soppy!"

"I know," Jack sighed, "fucking sickening isn't it?"

"Kinda cute," Charles whispered and kissed her nose.

"Hmpf," Jack scoffed, "cute? Never!"

Charles laughed again and pulled her into a crushing embrace.

"We're really doing this?" Jack asked from his chest, her voice muffled.

"Doing what?" Charles asked nervously, not sure what Jack's intentions were.

"We'll get to _that_ later," Jack snickered, obviously reading his thoughts. "I just meant... Us. Do you want us to be... A thing?"

Charles nodded. "More than you know!"

Jack smiled and gave him a kiss. "Are you sure? It would have to be a secret!"

"I'm sure," Charles whispered. "This is what I want."

"Good, I'll see you tomorrow then," Jack said and used her fingers to drum a little rhythm on his chest. "First you have advanced biotics with your classmates, and then I have a private lesson for you."

"A private lesson, ma'am?"

"You'll see," Jack teased. "Just be in my office by four, Magnus. We need to work on your kissing, and then maybe we'll go on to more... Exciting subjects later on."

Charles could feel his face blush as Jack gave him a goodbye kiss and disappeared down the hallway.

"Wow," he whispered. "Wow, wow, wow."

He had just been kissed by his instructor, who also happened to be the woman with whom he had recently been madly in love. Yes, love. Now, there was no way of denying it. It was love, and it truly did make him feel happy and infinitely stronger, but funnily enough, also weaker at the same time. It seemed stupid and illogical when he thought about it, but he simply didn't care. Hell, he didn't know half the feelings bursting through him, but one of them was happiness, of that he was sure.

* * *

_A/N_

_Alright!_

_Things are heating up!_

_Threw in a movie quote, let me know if you recognize it. Kudos to the first one who points it out._

_As always, I would love to hear your thoughts on things I have already written, and also ideas for me to write in the future chapters._

_Let me know what you think._

_Love you all._

_- Simon_


	19. Extra Tuition

Chapter Nineteen - Extra Tuition

"Did you and Jack have sex last night?"

"What?"

"Did you and Jack have sex last night?" Vera repeated and leaned in closer. The rest of their classmates were all focused on what Jack was telling them. For once they were gathered in their classroom for a theoretical lesson, a rare event with Jack as their instructor.

"No," Charles whispered back, "what makes you think that we did?"

"Well," Vera snickered, "you've been grinning like an idiot all morning."

"So? Maybe I just like Wednesdays?" Charles tried weakly.

"Right," Vera scoffed, "then tell me why Jack just laughed it up, when Kurt admitted, that he hadn't done his homework?"

"Maybe she likes Wednesdays too?"

"Oh yeah, of course," Vera snorted sarcastically, "she didn't even swear at him! SHE DIDN'T EVEN SWEAR, CHARLES!"

"Something you want to share with the rest of us, Miss Rodriguez?" Jack said and shot Vera a questioning look. Vera's intensified whispers had apparently reached the front of the classroom.

"Definitely not," Charles answered for her.

"Then shut the fuck up when I'm teaching," Jack said sweetly, "please?"

"Of course, ma'am" Vera promised, straightened up in her chair and folded her hands neatly on top of her desk.

A minute later, Charles received a text message on his datapad.

_Did you hear that? She said 'please'! Something happened last night, and I want to know what it is._

Charles let out an inaudible sigh and replied.

_Vera! I'm actually trying to pay attention to this class!_

"Alright, let's call it a day," Jack announced after another half hour, "you're off for the rest of the day. Get a good night's sleep, Wolff has a surprise for you tomorrow."

"Something is definitely up," Vera told Charles as they packed up their things, "she's even giving us the rest of the day off! It's not even noon yet. If you didn't sleep with her, I wonder what's got her in such a good mood."

"We may have kissed a bit," Charles whispered and enjoyed the look of both shock and delight on her pretty face.

"Really?" Vera asked incredulously.

"Oh yes," Charles nodded, "but you still can't tell anyone about it. I only told you, because you already knew, that I like her."

"I won't. Tell anybody, that is. Wow this is big, huh?" Vera whispered.

"Yes. Yes it is," Charles replied.

"What are you two whispering about?" Kurt interrupted.

"Nothing," Charles replied a bit too quickly.

"Sure!" Kurt said and rolled his eyes. "Want to go for an early lunch?"

-X-X-X-

After a quick meal, Kurt had somehow convinced Vera and Charles, that they would be interested in watching the latest Blasto vid with him.

After ninety minutes of jellyfish-jokes, mindless action scenes and predictable, hopelessly cheesy punch lines Vera breathed a sigh of relief and stretched her arms. "Phew, I'm glad that's over."

Internally, Charles couldn't agree with her more, but he kept his quiet. He didn't want to hurt Kurt's feelings, which apparently were tied to his friends' opinion of 'Blasto - The Hanar Who Loved Me'.

"It's not that bad," Kurt muttered and frowned. "What's up with the two of you anyway? You keep looking at each other funnily." He looked back and forth between Vera and Charles.

"Nothing," Vera shrugged and begun to fold her newly washed uniforms.

"If you'd like to be alone, I can go," Kurt laughed. "I'm not one to stand in the way of a bit of snogging."

"You've got it all wrong, mate," Charles laughed and patted his friend on his back. "There'll be no snogging here, unless the two of you..." he said and pointed his index finger between the two of them.

"Eww!" Kurt and Vera said simultaneously.

"Don't even joke about that," Kurt warned, "she's like a sister to me."

"I feel the same way about you," Vera said and put away her folded uniforms.

"Really? I'm like a sister to you too?" Kurt joked.

"Exactly!" Vera laughed and stuck her tongue out at him.

Charles glanced at Vera's Commander Shepard alarm Clock. It was a quarter past three.

"I better go," he announced, "I have an appointment at four."

"An appointment?" Kurt repeated. "With who?"

"Extra tuition with Jack," Charles replied honestly, causing Vera to start giggling.

"Ah," Kurt said in realization. "Your biotics?"

"Yes," Charles said and smirked at Vera. "My biotics."

Vera, who was now balancing on the edge of a laughing fit, managed to shove Charles out the door.

"Remember, we have Wolff's surprise tomorrow. Don't let her wear you out!" Kurt shouted through the closing door, and Charles just caught sight of Vera collapsing with laughter before the door sealed shut.

-X-X-X-

'How can something feel so wrong and so right at the same time?' Jack thought to herself, as she opened her door and threw herself into Magnus' arms. She stood on her toes, and violently smashed her lips against his. At first, he just stood there, but it wasn't long before he started to kiss her back.

'He's getting better already,' Jack noted with glee.

Slowly, Magnus opened his eyes and pulled away from her. He had the cutest, most innocent smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, as their eyes locked. Nervously, he looked down the hallway towards Sanders' office. The head director's door remained closed and Ascension Hall was completely empty, but he still tried to guide Jack back into her office.

"Nervous?" Jack guessed, holding her ground. "Or do I embarrass you?"

"All the time," Magnus teased, but then became serious. "But I'm more worried about you actually. I wouldn't want you to lose your job because of me."

Jack shrugged. She had never been much of a long term planner, and consequences were rarely something she prepared for or cared about, they just sort of happened. But in this case, she was slightly worried about possibly losing her job. She really liked it at Grissom Academy, and, not knowing the rules for fraternization, with a student no less, she believed that her newly founded relationship with Ensign Magnus would be best left as a secret. It wasn't anybody else's business anyway.

Feeling a little stupid for not having better control of herself, she pulled Magnus into her office and away from any unwanted attention. She would have to keep herself in check in public spaces, or the punishment, for both herself and Magnus, could be substantial.

"I thought so," Magnus softly laughed, as Jack frantically tapped the panel to close her door behind him.

"Shut up," Jack muttered and biotically pushed him up against the wall, before pouncing on his surprised face.

"Are we crazy?" Magnus asked her, his lips still brushing against hers, "for doing this?"

Jack laughed and pushed him up against the wall once more. This time, just using her hand. "I've been declared mentally unstable or outright insane by every single shrink I've ever talked to, except for one," she whispered into his ear, as she fondly remembered her many conversation with Kelly Chambers. "Messing around with you is but a droplet in my ocean of craziness."

"That's... poetic," Magnus decided and gave her a little squeeze.

"Well, maybe your impeccable manners and delightful attitude have rubbed off on me."

"I find that a little hard to believe," Magnus giggled and gave her ponytail a soft pull.

"What about you? Is having a potty-mouthed teacher affecting you?" Jack inquired.

"Fuck no!" Magnus replied with a grin, causing Jack to crumble with laughter. She was only able to remain standing, because her arms were clamped around his neck.

Laughing himself, he leaned against the wall and gently slid down, until he was sitting on the floor with Jack in his lap. She leaned back her head against his shoulder, and intertwined her fingers with his. He gave her temple a soft kiss in return and she could feel his breathing becoming more and more relaxed.

"This is nice," he whispered and gave her hand a little squeeze.

"mmhh," Jack hummed agreeably and rested her head against the side of his neck.

He put his arms around her, and it felt like a comforting, protective blanket to Jack. She had definitely never felt like this before. The other people she had been close to, even the ones she had been with for longer periods of time, had never made her feel like this. She didn't think that she would ever have been able to just sit with one of them, like she was now sitting with Ensign Magnus. Not speaking a word, not kissing, fucking or otherwise roaming each other's bodies. Just sitting there, enjoying the closeness, the attention and yes, the peacefulness.

She still wanted to do all the other shit with Magnus, but with him, it was just like another level had been unlocked within her. A level where that kind of stuff wasn't necessary. She could just relax and lean back, he would be there to catch her.

_Fuck me! Magnus was right, I'm disgustingly poetic today!_

Internally, Jack was battling with herself. One part of her wanted to remain seated like this forever. Securely fastened between Magnus' torso and his arms, listening to his soft breathing. Another part of her wanted to rip his clothes off right there and then. First they would do it right there on the floor, then on her desk, like in that glorious dream she had had the other night. After that, she would tie him to the bed and do unspeakable things to his glorious body, not stopping until he was screaming for mercy. She smirked as she felt the warmth spreading inside her.

She had many plans for Magnus, but in a rare show of patience, she decided, that there would be plenty of time for all that later, and that this moment was special. Besides, she knew, that he had very little experience when it came to women, though not how little. The full Jack-in-a-sex-trance experience might be a little too much for him to handle right now. After all, their physical relationship was still very young, and she didn't want to scare him away. Not yet anyway, she thought, and remembered the times when she would intentionally scare otherwise brave and scary men away using only sexual aggressiveness. Previously, when her partners had begun to bore her, she would either kill them or simply leave in the dark of the night, often taking half of their belongings with her. But it was much more entertaining, though less enriching, to have them break up with her for being too much of a freak in the bedroom.

She could never do any of that to Charles, she agreed with herself. In her current haze of infatuation, she couldn't imagine ever wanting to get rid of him, but if that ever changed, she knew she wouldn't want to break his heart by leaving, and she knew, by the way she was now restraining herself, that it was unlikely, that she would be able to carry out the sexual freakiness it would take for him to dump her. Ironically, killing him seemed like the most humane option, as well as being the easiest option for Jack to deal with.

'If I can't have him, nobody can,' Jack selfishly thought, and decided that murder would definitely be her way out, if she ever got tired of Magnus. It didn't seem likely right now though, as she carefully tried to match her own breathing with his. But if he was dead, at least she would know, that he wasn't with anyone else. If he should ever want to break up with her, Jack knew, that she would most likely kill him and a whole bunch of other people. As such, in Jack's messed up mind, she had created a situation, where Magnus' only chance of survival was to stay with Jack forever, and pray that she would never get tired of him. She couldn't hold back a smile, as she realized, just how crazy she actually was.

_Kelly Chambers was wrong. I am definitely insane. Here I am, in the arms of the first man, I've ever truly loved, and I catch myself planning his death!_

Jack snickered to herself, causing her shoulders to shake, as she tried to refrain from laughing out loud.

"What's so funny, ma'am?"

"Nothing," Jack quickly said and kissed his cheek.

"Oh, really?"

"If you must now, I was thinking about you," Jack purred and shifted her weight in his lap, to which he let out an appreciative groan.

"You find me funny?" he asked, puzzled.

"Among other things," Jack trilled and ran her hands suggestively up his inner thighs, to which Magnus swallowed nervously, causing his Adam's apple to bounce. With reddened cheeks, he coughed to hide his panic and shifted anxiously underneath her.

Jack thoroughly enjoyed the way her touch affected her student, but she was also happy that she decided to take it a little slow with him. If he got this nervous and flustered by a little over the clothes action and some innuendo, he would surely have been killed if she had done just half the things she wanted to do to him. He would probably have passed out, even if she just explained it to him.

"Have you done any of this before?" Jack asked, when Magnus had calmed down a bit.

"N-no," he admitted with shame and blushed even more."When you kissed me yesterday, that was my first."

"Holy shit," Jack muttered before she could stop herself.

"Not helping!"

"Sorry, Magnus. So I can assume that all the rest of this," she pointed to the position they were sitting in, "is relatively new to you as well?"

The student nodded. "Every time we touch, it's like brand new territory for me. I guess I have a lot to learn."

"Good thing you're with a professional educator then," Jack said with a reassuring smile.

"Hah! Professional?" Magnus snorted jokingly, "I doubt any of your bosses would call you professional, if they saw what you were doing right now."

"None of my bosses ever have." Jack shrugged. "In a sense, they are right. But if we follow the definition, that a professional is someone who is paid to do what they do," she continued with a smile, "then I am indeed professional."

"Definitions like that might not save you if Sanders finds out about us and wants to sack you for 'unprofessional behavior'."

Jack giggled. "If Kahlee wanted professional behavior, she would never have hired me, but I agree. This might be too much for her pretty little head to handle, so I think we should strive to keep it a secret. Don't you?"

"I do," Magnus agreed. "I already have to explain to everybody, why I'm here, when I have no apparent biotic talent. Since prom, people might be thinking that you're only keeping me here, because I'm having sex with you. Revealing this," he pointed between them, "will only make it worse."

"Really?" Jack exclaimed disbelievingly. "Do you really think, that other students think that about you? About me?"

"Maybe," he shrugged.

"Somebody already told this to you, didn't they? Made fun of you?"

"Yes," Magnus sighed. "The guy at prom."

"And you still won't tell me who it is?"

"Nope."

"C'mon!"

"Nah."

"Tell me, Magnus."

"No, you'll just kill him."

"Yeah, so? He's a dick isn't he? I'll bet he's a dick!"

"He is, but I'm still not telling you. Kissing a student might not get you fired, but I'm pretty sure killing one will."

Jack giggled and caressed his jaw. "You're really not going to tell me, are you?"

"No."

Jack leaned in closer until her lips were at his ear. "If you tell me, I will take my clothes off and..." she started and continued to promise him things, that every teenage boy wanted, but almost never had the balls to ask a girl for.

"Tha-that sounds t-truly amazing," a now very red-faced Ensign Magnus stuttered. "But I can't tell you."

"Impressive," Jack muttered and crossed her arms. She had thought, that he would cave in like a volus under torture. "Damn, you're tough!"

Magnus smiled at her and kissed her forehead before standing to his feet. "Want to go for dinner?" He asked.

"Sure," she said and allowed him to pull her up from the floor. She was just about to open the door, when Magnus held up a hand to stop her.

"Wait," he said and lifted his other hand, which she, to her own surprise, was still holding on to. "Secrecy," he reminded, and let go of her hand.

"Oh, right," she mumbled and opened the door, fortunately revealing an empty hallway.

"Don't walk so close to me," she in turn reminded him, as they made their way to Orion Hall. "Fall back a little, like we're not going there together."

"Aye, ma'am."

"You can still look at my ass, though. You were doing that before anyway!"


	20. Chase

Chapter Twenty - Chase

"It's really rather nice, isn't it?" Kurt commented in a whisper, as Charles and his five class mates followed Jack to the far end of the station.

"What is?" Charles whispered back.

"Her bum," the blond said and nodded towards Jack, who was leading them around a corner.

They were now in a part of the station, where Charles had never been before. He had never had the need to. They were on their way to meet up with Sergeant Wolff and the combat engineers.

"It is," Charles agreed, trying not to give anything away. It was an art to be perfected. Of course, he didn't want to sound too excited by Jack's ass, since that might alert Kurt to his involvement, or at least, his infatuation with their instructor. Also, it was important that he didn't seem protective or indifferent. That would just be too suspicious. Boys would always talk about attractive women, and it would only raise suspicion if Charles suddenly was reluctant to join in on Kurt's praise of Jack's body. If a guy said that a girl had a nice ass, you'd better agree, especially when it really was nice. Jack's certainly was!

"It's really nice," Charles said, fulfilling his duty in their man-to-man conversation.

"Good morning kids," Lieutenant Sanders greeted as she ran up from behind them, "just thought I'd come see you in action today."

"Morning, Lieutenant," Vera chirped. "Can you tell us what kind of surprise Wolff has for us? Jack says she can't tell."

"She can't," Sanders confirmed with a nod. "It's a surprise, and I'm not telling you either."

Vera giggled nervously. "I hate surprises."

"At least we know it's got something to do with the engineers," Prangley excitedly said with a huge grin on his face. "Sophia told me, but they don't know what we're supposed to do either."

"I don't care if it's early Christmas," Reiley groaned and rubbed his red eyes. "It's way too early to do anything."

"Early Christmas seems unlikely with Sergeant Wolff," his twin sister commented dryly before yawning.

"Wake up, Bellarmines!" Sanders reprimanded. "I can promise you, that you'll need to be on your toes for this."

"Aye, ma'am," the twins said in unison and straightened up.

"Ah, finally," Wolff said as Jack lead her students and the Ascension Project head director to their meeting place. "The freaks are here!"

"Watch it, grandpa!" Jack growled and took a step forward.

"Morning all!" Sanders sang and stepped between them, immediately diffusing the tension.

Wolff, who looked like he had been ready to shout at Jack, closed his mouth and shoved his hands in his pockets at the sight of the attractive head director. Charles couldn't hold back a smirk, as he remembered the sight of the two of them dancing at prom. Sanders only reluctantly.

"Good morning," he muttered and asked the students, biotics and engineers alike, to gather around him. The students quickly formed a circle, which had a green half and a red half. On game day, there was very little camaraderie between the students of the two departments, and Sanders, Jack and the Engineering Instructor had placed themselves between the two groups to avoid any premature confrontation.

Charles noticed Prangley smirking self-confidently at his girlfriend Sophia, who was standing on the other side of the circle. She immaturely stuck her tongue out at him. Even between the two of them, there was competition on a day like this.

Thomas Snow caught Charles' attention and dramatically cracked his knuckles. Charles tried to ignore him, but couldn't refrain from winking back at him before returning his attention to the bald, old soldier in the center of the circle.

"Today, I have planned a little game, in which we will be testing your speed, stamina, shooting, decision making and stress handling," Wolff begun as he started to pass out the familiar sets of receivers that they always used for their pistol fights. The students all started to mount the receivers on their uniforms, without Wolff telling them to do so. The receivers were designed to give the one wearing them an electric shock when triggered by a laser beam fired from a training pistol.

"As usual, you will be wearing the receivers, and using the standard M-3 Training Gun," Wolff added and passed out the yellow laser guns. "I took the liberty of cranking up the power on the receivers. I want to make sure you really feel it, when you're hit. It shouldn't be enough to knock you unconscious, but it should definitely take you to your knees. You should probably try to keep your tongues behind your teeth as much as possible, or you might accidentally bite them off if you're shot."

Snow snorted as he placed the last of his receivers on the middle of his chest.

"You can ignore that last thing, Snow," Wolff barked, without even looking in the young engineer's direction. "If you accidentally bit off your tongue and was rendered unable to speak, well, let's just say, I probably wouldn't lose any sleep over it."

All of the biotics and a few of the engineers smirked, and Charles completely forget about his dislike of the old sergeant for a second. A very brief second.

"I will split you into teams of two, and then match you against a team from the other department," Wolff announced and started to create his teams. Charles was paired with Prangley, Vera with Seanne and Kurt and Reiley formed the last team from the Ascension Project.

"Here is the scenario: One team will pretend to be high value targets who have broken into our station, killed someone important, let's say they killed me, and now they are trying to get off the station," Wolff explained.

"If they killed him, why are they so desperate to get off the station?" Kurt whispered in Charles' ear. "They'd be heroes!"

"The other team," Wolff continued, "will try to chase them down and kill them before they reach the shuttles. Both teams will have weapons, but the bad guys' objective is not to kill the others, it's to reach the shuttles without getting killed."

"Cool," Prangley whispered.

"The bad guys will have a twenty second head start, before I send the chasing team after them. All the other students have been warned that we are doing this exercise, but it's impossible to say how they will behave. Just like real civilians, they may be helpful or harmful to your objective. None of them are wearing the receivers, so they won't feel a thing if you shoot them. The bad guys are allowed to do this, but if just one civilian is hit by the chasing team, the bad guys will have won."

"Cool," Charles agreed. "It's like a proper chase."

"As always," Wolff reminded, "I don't give a shit how good you are with a screwdriver or if you can make people freeze with the power of your mind. I train soldiers, not geeks and freaks. You are not allowed to use combat engineering or biotic skill for this exercise. We will watch you from here to see how you're doing, so don't even think about cheating. When it's all over, I will tell you what to do through your earpieces."

Charles and his classmates were chosen to portray the bad guys first, and Vera and Seanne were going up against Sophia and her friend Lichelle.

"Remember," Wolff boomed, "bad guys, try to get to the shuttles, do not seek out a firefight, that's not your objective. Engineers, you are the good guys. These two have just killed your favorite instructor, and now you want to kill them."

Sophia rolled her eyes, obviously not agreeing with Wolff when he announced himself as her favorite instructor. All four ladies showed good sportsmanship and shook each others' hands, before Vera and Seanne were sent off. Twenty seconds later, Wolff blew his whistle and Sophia and Lichelle stormed after them.

Wolff, Sanders, Jack and Green, the engineering instructor, gathered around a series of monitors to survey their progress through the station.

About five minutes later, Jack and Sanders cheered and high-fived each other. Apparently, Vera and Seanne, or just one of them, had managed to reach the shuttles.

"Yes!" Prangley said and punched the air. Snow glared at him with disgust.

-X-X-X-

"Good job, Rodriguez and Bellarmine," Sanders said to the victorious girls, when they returned. Kurt and Reiley had been on the run for a few minutes, Snow and Jefferson from engineering in hot pursuit.

"Thank you, ma'am," Vera panted and received a few pats on her back from Jack, who looked like she was trying not to look too smug in front of the engineering instructor.

Sophia received a comforting hug from Prangley, who couldn't hold back a triumphant smirk either. "What happened, honey?" He asked.

"Too quick," Sophia simply said, still out of breath. "We caught up with them in Orion Hall, but there were too many other students, ehm, 'civilians', so we couldn't take the shot."

"We didn't fire a single shot," Lichelle told Charles and patted her still holstered pistol.

"Well done, ladies," Charles said and hugged Vera and Seanne.

"Prangley! Magnus! You're up!" Wolff barked, interrupting their celebrations.

Jack was scowling at Instructor Green, who celebrated Snow and Jefferson's success in bringing down Kurt and Reiley. "Damn it," she cursed, "they almost made it!"

Two engineers stepped up and shook Prangley's and Charles' hands.

"You ready?" Prangley asked Charles and pulled him aside.

"Yes," Charles said and gritted his teeth. He wanted to win, he was only sad, that he couldn't have gone against Snow and his buddy.

"This shouldn't be too hard," Prangley remarked and nodded in direction of their two opponents. "We should be able to outrun them without trouble. I say we split up, force them to split up as well, and then meet each other at the shuttles, have a cup of coffee and wait for these two unlucky bastards to arrive."

"Confident much?" Charles grinned.

"Come on," Prangley said with a shrug. "You and I hold the fastest two times on the obstacle course for the Ascension Project. It's going to be a complete walk-over. It's unfair for them really."

"If you say so," Charles reluctantly agreed. "I'll run through the labs, and you'll go down to Orion Hall?"

"Sure," Prangley said and they took their positions at the starting line.

"Go!" Wolff shouted and Prangley and Charles took off in two completely different directions.

Wanting to put as much distance between himself and his pursuer, Charles sprinted as hard as he could down the empty hallway until he saw the closing doors of a nearby elevator. He managed to slip in just before the doors shut.

"Hey," he managed to say to the group of young children, as he used the elevator ride to regain his breath.

"Is that a real gun?" a little boy asked and pointed at Charles' holstered M-3 Predator.

"Not really," Charles said and winked at him.

In his head, he played with the thought of gunning the children down. After all, he was meant to be a bad guy, and it wasn't like it would actually harm them, but he chose not to. It wouldn't do him any good, besides maybe give him a little laugh, and it may traumatize the children.

"We're just playing a game," he instead assured the nervous-looking children. "Look, it's painted yellow. That means it's just practice gun."

The elevator pinged and the doors opened. Charles jumped out, the children starring after him with admiration.

As he emerged on the other side of the biology labs, he still hadn't seen his pursuer. Maybe Prangley had been right, maybe this would be a walkover. He was just one elevator ride and a few hundred more meters of hallway from the Shuttles, and he was absolutely certain that whoever was chasing him couldn't be anywhere near.

He jumped into another elevator, and was confident enough in the lead that he had built up, that he showed a pretty girl in a lab coat the courtesy of holding the elevator door open for her.

"Ascension Project," she deducted from his uniform, as the doors closed behind her.

"Yes," Charles said and grabbed his knees, trying to steady his breath.

"Oh right, you're doing the chase exercise today. Are you a good guy or a bad guy?" she asked, eyeing his pistol.

"Bad," Charles admitted with a grin.

"Oh my," she said and placed a hand on her chest, pretending to be fearful. "Are you going to take me hostage?"

"Not necessary, miss," Charles said and shook his head. "I'm an honorable bad guy. I'm not going to take you as a hostage?"

"Too bad," she said and winked at him. "With you, Stockholm syndrome would be a given."

Charles blushed.

"Cute," she giggled, noticing his pink cheeks. The elevator came to a stop and she stepped out of the elevator, blowing him a kiss before the doors closed and the elevator continued to Charles' floor.

Getting his head back in the game, Charles stepped out of the elevator and was immediately torpedoed by Prangley, who had been sprinting down the corridor.

"Shit!" Prangley yelled as he got to his feet. "Mine is quick."

Just as the words left Prangley's mouth, a green-clad engineer rounded the corner and opened fire upon the two Ascension Project students.

"Fuck!" Charles hissed as a beam of light whizzed right past his head. "Go! Go! Go!"

They stormed down the hallway until they reached the security stations and slammed their hands upon one of the parked shuttles.

"Damn it!" The engineer cursed as he holstered his pistol. "Good game, guys!"

"Good game," Charles and Prangley said and shook his hand.

"Where's your buddy?" Prangley asked.

The engineer shrugged and gave Charles a questioning look.

"I haven't seen him since the starting line," Charles said.

"Peterson! You've got to be the slowest guy on this entire station," the engineer laughed to himself.

A minute later, Peterson showed up, gasping for air.

"A can of Tupari! A can of Tupari, and I'll be alright," he panted before collapsing on his classmate.

_"Good job, boys," _Sanders told them over the radio._ "Now, come back, and it will be your turn to be the good guys."_

-X-X-X-

"Well done, lads," Kurt praised and bumped their fists, when they returned to the starting line. "Vera and Seanne are out trying to hunt down Mrs. Prangley and her friend."

"Mrs. Prangley," Prangley snorted. "Take it easy, Nielsen. You've just lost to Snow, you should be furious."

"Oh I am, which is why I am sad, that they are not allowing Reiley and us to take revenge."

"They're not?"

"Nope. We're going up against Hitchens and Peterson, while you two, lucky bastards, are taking on Snow and Jefferson," Kurt informed.

"Delightful," Prangley said with an evil grin on his face. "We'll get that bastard!"

As on cue, Thomas Snow stepped over to them. "Ready boys? You better be!"

"Fuck off, Snow!" Prangley growled.

"Jason, Jason, Jason. Is that how you want to talk to your oldest friend?"

"You're not my friend, you smarmy bastard!"

"In that case," Snow said in a threatening tone, "you boys better screw your balls on tight, because when Jefferson and I let loose, this shit takes off. We are the quickest on the obstacle course."

"So are they," Kurt countered, pointing to Charles and Prangley before walking over to join Reiley and Jack.

"How's Rodriguez? Snow drawled. "I saw her at prom, lovely girl, isn't she?"

"I know what you're trying to do, Snow," Prangley hissed, surprisingly calm. "You want me to kick your ass, so that I might get expelled."

"You know me too well, old friend," Snow said with a smirk.

"Just remember," Prangley whispered, poking his former best friend in the chest, "_old friend, _that Magnus and I could just pick up a wrench and some instructions and learn to do what you do. But what we do," he levitated Snow a few centimeters up into the air with just a flick of his wrist, "is what you just can't do. And you're jealous, because we're better than you!"

With a thud, Prangley return Snow to the floor again, but the engineer was still wearing his superior smile. "You say that you're both better than me, because you can do biotics, but really it's just you, Jason. As far as I've heard, Magnus here is still one of us 'regular folks'."

Apparently, Snow had said the last part a bit too loud, because Jack suddenly snapped her head in his direction. "He's the one!" She screamed. "He's the one you fought at prom!"

"Oh, shit!" Charles muttered.

Jack took a few, long, threatening steps towards Snow before she was stopped by Kurt and Reiley, who, fortunately for the young engineer, had been alert enough to sense the potential confrontation.

"Ma'am," Kurt pleaded as he struggled to keep Jack away from Snow, "please calm down. We can handle him ourselves, student to student."

Jack relaxed a little, allowing Sanders to step in and take a talk with her. After a series of reprimands from the head director that Charles couldn't hear, Jack stomped off to a corner where she continued to scowl at Snow.

"You're lucky, Snow," Reiley said with disgust, before he and Kurt were sent off to chase down Hitchens and Peterson.

Charles pulled Prangley a bit to the side and looked into his eyes. "You didn't really mean what you said to Snow, right?"

"What do you mean? That he's a smarmy bastard?"

"No no, that he definitely is! But I don't think you should talk about non-biotics as if they're second class citizens."

"I know," Prangley said and hung his head in shame, "they talked a lot about that in basic, before you came, and I would normally never say something like that. It's just... It's just that asshole Snow, with him, I just can't bring myself to care."

"I understand," Charles said, "he pisses me off too, so let's agree we kick his ass at this game?"

"If we lose, I'll never forgive myself," Prangley muttered with a determined look in his eyes.

A few minutes later, Vera, Seanne, Sophia and Lichelle returned. The latter had been shot down by Seanne and was limping slightly. However, the biotics had been unable to hit Sophia, and she had reached the shuttles, earning another victory for the combat engineers. Vera and Seanne were not sore losers though, and they supported Lichelle as she, with a severely bruised knee, made her way back to the starting line.

"Aren't you going to congratulate me, baby?" Sophia said and poked Prangley in the side.

"Oh, yeah, sure. Congratulations," Prangley answered, not managing to take his eyes off Thomas Snow.

"Don't do anything stupid," Sophia reminded him and kissed his cheek, when she saw the way her boyfriend was glaring at her fellow engineer.

"Yes!" Seanne yelled from the monitors. "Reiley and Kurt won!"

Moments later, Snow and Jefferson were sent off.

Charles' heart was already pounding and he could almost taste the adrenaline flowing through his entire body. He wanted nothing more than to beat Thomas Snow, and he would run until his lungs exploded if he had to.

Finally, Wolff blew his whistle, and Charles and Prangley stormed off down the hallway, both with murder in their eyes.

They skidded around a corner, and just managed to see Snow and Jefferson jumping into an elevator several hundred meters down the corridor.

"They're staying together!" Charles yelled.

"Emergency stairs!" Prangley shouted back, "or we'll never make it!"

Charles slammed open an emergency door and jumped down the first flight of stairs with Prangley right behind him.

"Which floor?" Charles groaned as he jumped over a railing to save time.

"First!" Prangley panted. "Orion Hall!"

"Here!" Charles screamed and stormed out of the emergency stairwell and out into the main corridor, which was now bustling with life, as students of all ages tried to make their way to classrooms, labs or breakfast in Orion Hall.

"Move! Move! MOVE!" Prangley ordered, causing most of the students to press themselves against the walls, clearing a path for the two biotics to continue their chase.

"There they are!" Charles yelled, as he saw Snow and Jefferson exit their elevator in the distance.

Snow looked up and to his obvious surprise saw Prangley and Charles in the other end of the hallway. He raised his pistol and fired a volley of shots in their direction, before turning and continuing towards Orion Hall.

Prangley dove to cover behind some lockers, and Charles pushed a girl to safety in an empty classroom.

"Good guy now?" she asked, and Charles noticed that it was the girl in the lab coat who had offered to be his hostage earlier.

He winked at her and stormed back out into the hallway to continue the chase. Prangley was already far ahead. "They won't feel a thing if they're hit, Magnus, don't waste time being a hero!" He shouted back over his shoulder.

Charles felt stupid for trying to save the girl, who, in reality, hadn't been in danger at all, and he got angry with himself. Snow and Jefferson were already at Orion Hall, and if they won, Charles would never be able to forgive his own stupidity.

Luckily, he was able to use his anger to catch up with Prangley, and they entered Orion Hall simultaneously. If the hallway had been crowded, it was nothing compared to the giant room in front of them.

"There!" Prangley said and pointed to the two engineers, who were shoving their way through the crowds.

Charles jumped up on a chair and from there up on one of the hundreds of round tables. "Hey!" a teacher who was sat at the table complained, but Charles had already jumped to the next table.

As Charles continued to jump from table to table, accidentally stepping in bowls of cereal, knocking over coffee and ruining several people's mornings, Prangley was pushing his way through the crowds on the floor.

As he reached the other end of the hall, Charles was just twenty meters or so behind Snow and Jefferson, but it was still way too crowded to take a shot. Not for the engineers though.

Snow and Jefferson spun around and fired wildly at Charles, who only just managed to roll to safety behind one of the buffet tables. The engineers hit a lot of other students with their laser beams, and though some of the students seemed surprised, none of them showed signs of any physical discomfort.

Suddenly, Prangley emerged from the crowd and managed to hit Jefferson in the arm.

"Eihgghh!" The engineer squealed and fell to his knees, grabbing his arm.

"Arghhhh! Damn it!" Prangley roared as Thomas Snow fired two shots at him, both hitting him in his right leg.

Charles looked up from his cover and saw Snow sprinting off in direction of the shuttles.

"Get that bastard!" Prangley yelled as he picked his pistol up from the floor and holstered it. "It's just you and him now!"

Charles jumped over the buffet and stormed after the engineer, pumping every last bit of energy out into his legs, as he bolted down a corridor. It wasn't far to the finish line now.

He rounded a corner and just managed to take cover behind a large crate, before Snow unleashed a barrage of laser beams in his direction. The engineer was standing in the middle of the hallway, holding a young woman in front of him as a human shield. The shuttles could be seen behind him, at the end of the corridor.

"You lose, Magnus," he taunted.

"Not yet," Charles panted from his position behind the shipping crate. "Really Snow, taking a hostage, that's pretty low, even for you."

"I want to win, by any means necessary," Snow said with a shrug.

Charles spun out from his cover only to have the young woman pushed in his face, so he couldn't get a clear shot at his adversary. Snow had already taken off and would be arriving at the shuttles in a matter of seconds.

"Damn it!" He cursed, pushed the woman out of his way and took off again, but it seemed hopeless. There was just a hundred meters between the engineer and the shuttles, and Charles was at least a hundred meters further behind.

Charles was running, as if for his very life. Tears were in his eyes from the air in his face, and every muscle in his body was begging him to stop.

"Rarghh!" He roared and cranked up the pace even further. Suddenly, everything became blurry, and there was a purplish flash of light, and in one split-second he was no longer behind Engineer Snow, he was standing in the same hallway, but in front of Snow, between him and the shuttles.

"Holy shit!" Charles whispered to himself.

"Hey!" Snow whined. "That's cheating!"

Charles smirked at his enemy and raised his pistol.

"Enkindle this!" He shamelessly growled before emptying his thermal clip into the chest of his least favorite student on the station.

Snow screamed in pain and fell on the floor, gasping for air.

Charles had a hard time believing what just happened. He had beaten Snow, that's what happened, but he had also just, sort of, teleported himself a hundred meters down a hallway.

"Magnus, you freak!" Prangley said as he came running down the corridor and pulled him into a crunching hug. "How did you do that?"

"I... I don't know," Charles stuttered. "I'm not even sure what happened."

"You performed a biotic charge!" Prangley said gleefully.

"A what?"

"The easiest way to describe it is, that it's like a short distance teleport. Very few biotics can do it though."

"Can you... Can you do it?" Charles asked.

"No," Prangley said and hung his head, "not yet anyway, but Jack can, and she's been giving me extra tuition."

"Me too," Charles was just about to say, but bit it back. "Wicked," he said instead and looked at Snow, who was still lying on the floor, panting heavily. "Should we help him?"

"Naah," Prangley dismissed and tossed his arm around Charles' shoulder.

_"What the hell was that, Magnus?" _A loud familiarly rough voice sounded in his ear.

"I'm sorry, Sergeant Wolff," Magnus said, one finger to his earpiece.

_"I said no biotics, you're disqualified. Snow and Jefferson win!"_

_"But, Sergeant," _Charles could hear Sanders pleading over the radio, _"he didn't mean to. He doesn't do it on purpose."_

_"Don't care!"_ Wolff barked, _"Magnus and Prangley lost, and as a punishment for not obeying my rules, Magnus will be cleaning up all the guns after we're done."_

_"Listen up," _Jack snarled, _"you bald, old, wrinkly-assed motherfuc.. mpfghh.."_

Obviously, Lieutenant Sanders had managed to put her hand over Jack's mouth before she could finish her rant.

_"It will be as I said," _Wolff announced over the radio. _"Ascension loses this round, and Magnus cleans up the guns tonight."_

"Bastard!" Prangley shouted, as both he and Charles looked to Snow, who was now laughing his ass off, still on the floor. "You too," he added in direction of his former friend.

-X-X-X-

"There! All done," Vera said as she finished polishing the last yellow-painted M-3 Predator.

"Thank you, guys," Charles happily said, "you really didn't have to do this."

After an entire day of running through the station, switching teams and alternating between being the good guys and the bad guys, all five of his classmates had refused to let him clean up the guns alone.

"Of course we didn't," Kurt grinned, "you cheated and we lost that round because of you."

"Oh, shut it," Charles laughed. "Besides, we managed to get the overall victory anyway, didn't we?"

"Oh yes we did," Prangley cheered, "and Snow, that douche bag, didn't seem too happy about it."

"It was so cool that you quoted Blasto before shooting that little twat!" Kurt gleefully chimed, ruffling Charles' hair.

"It just kinda happened," Charles shrugged. "The rest of you didn't have to do action movie quotes every time you fired a shot for the rest of the day."

He grinned at Vera, "Really Rodriguez, 'Yippie Kay Yay Motherfucker'?"

"What?" she said affronted, "you gotta respect the classics! Besides, do you know what Seanne said before shooting Snow in that last round?"

"What?" They all said, turning expectantly to Seanne.

"Say hello to my little friend," she whispered and blushed. The rest of them fell on the floor in laughter.

"Well," Charles said, as the laughter died down, "thank you so much guys, I'll see you tomorrow. I'm going to my room for some shuteye."

"No, you're not," Kurt stated matter-of-factly.

"Excuse me?"

"You're not going to sleep, Princess, because we have ten cases of beer and a good reason to celebrate."

"And what is that?"

"We won," Kurt said, smiling brightly.

"Give me another reason!"

"You used a biotic power today!"

"Accidentally," Charles reminded him with a sigh, "I didn't even know biotics could do that. That's not a good enough reason."

"We haven't got any lessons tomorrow, not until the evening," Kurt tried.

"Try again," Charles said, folding his arms."

"Now you're just being stubborn," Kurt complained.

"I've got one," Reiley announced, "I've got a good reason."

"Let's hear it," Charles sighed.

"We have reason to celebrate, because today, Jack wanted to kill both Thomas Snow and Sergeant Wolff."

"No good," Charles said, shaking his head. "Jack wants to kill _everybody every day_. That's hardly reason for celebration."

"You'll have no choice," Vera said, earning a look of betrayal from Charles, "because we'll be using your room."

"What? Why?" Charles demanded.

"That way, you'll be forced to participate," the brunette giggled, "and you don't have as much stuff in your room as everybody else, so there will be room for all six of us."

"There's no way I'm getting out of this, is there?" Charles asked, defeated. They all shook their heads.

"Party time!" Kurt whooped and punched his fist in the air. "We'll go get the beer."

Kurt took Prangley and Reiley and went to fetch the beverage.

"Can the two of you finish it up here?" Charles asked the remaining two girls. "I better go clean my room a bit. I wasn't expecting guests."

"Of course," Vera said and Seanne nodded. "remember to get all your dirty magazines out of the way!"

"I don't have any dirty maga..." Charles' red-faced explanation was interrupted by the two girls' laughter at his expense.

"Women!" Charles huffed and stormed out of the room and down the hallway. He could still hear their cackling laughter as he reached his elevator. "Evil creatures!" He laughed to himself, as he waited for the elevator.

-X-X-X-

"Wow, I'm pissed," Kurt announced and rolled another empty beer can across Charles' floor and into the substantial pile of empty cans in the corner.

"Tell me about it," Reiley slurred from his position on Charles' bed.

"Let's play 'truth, dare or drink', huh?" Vera said. "I'll start. Prangley, are you in love with Sophia?"

"No," Prangley said and shifted uncomfortably on the floor.

"You're obviously lying. The game's called 'truth, dare or drink', Prangley," Vera sighed, "if you don't want to tell us the truth, you'll be given a dare, and if you don't want to do that either, you'll have to drink whatever I tell you to."

"Okay," Prangley agreed. "Give me a dare!"

"For Christ's sake, you big stupid gym rat," Seanne screeched, "we all know you're in love with her. Just say it, God damn'it!"

"Okay! I love Sophia!"

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" Kurt said and put a comforting arm around Prangley's shoulder. "And you get to ask the next question."

"Rodriguez," Prangley said with a revengeful smirk, "what is the weirdest place, you have ever had sex?"

"Bastard!" Vera said and frowned, "I'll take a dare."

"Run naked to Ascension Hall and back again," Prangley dared.

"Bastard!" Vera repeated. "How much do you want me to drink, 'cause I'm not doing that!"

"You can start by chugging your beer," Prangley said and pointed at the beer, that Vera had just opened.

"Jerk," she said and poured the liquid down her throat.

After about an hour of playing 'truth, dare or drink' they had emptied another case of beer, Seanne had admitted to having a crush on a young chemist, Kurt had drunkenly accepted a dare to run naked to his room and back again while yelling "Thomas Snow is the love of my life" and Vera had, to avoid answering another sex question from Prangley, accepted to kiss Reiley. The male Bellarmine twin didn't complain at all.

The conversation was lively, as they were retelling the more glorious parts of their competition with the engineers. Suddenly, as Kurt was explaining how he had managed to shoot both Jefferson and Lichelle, Charles' intercom beeped.

"Shhh," Vera said, and everybody quieted down and looked at the intercom with great anticipation.

"Yes," Charles slurred, but apparently, drunk as he was, his voice was still recognizable to the intercom, which allowed the call through.

_"Hey stud. Bring that sexy ass of yours over to my office, and we'll celebrate our victory on my desk!"_

Charles felt like he was immediately sober. All the color disappeared from his face, and he just stared out into empty space, a blank expression on his face.

Vera was trying hard not to laugh, her hands were clamped over her mouth, while her eyes looked like they were about to pop out of their sockets.

Kurt's face was one of realization, like he had just understood a joke that had been told to him a week ago. "Extra tuition", he mouthed before grinning at Charles.

The three others just stared at Charles in disbelief. The mouths agape, and not a single sound was heard.

"Ehhmmm," Charles muttered when he regained control of himself, "Jack, you should probably know that I'm not alone. The guys are here too."

_"All of them?"_

"Everybody!"

_"Fuck!"_

* * *

_A/N:_

Uh Oh! A bit of a cliffhanger this time, sorry.

_Nice little appearance from everybody's favorite asshole, Mr. Thomas Snow. Hope you hate him! :D_

I'd like to thank you for your wonderful reviews, they are both encouraging and helpful. I would like to mention

_**Kaglow274. **__Thank you very much for your review and insightful advice._

_I really like this chase exercise, maybe it's just the thought of students tearing through their school with laser guns, trying to catch each other. Don't know why, but I just loved the idea when it popped into my head._

_The action movie quotes: Cheesy? You bet! Regrets? None!_

_As always, I'd love to hear what you think, and your advice is much appreciated as well._

_Look out for Chapter 21, Charles and Jack have some explanation to do. Next chapter will be up soon._

_- Simon_


	21. Never Have I Ever

Chapter Twenty-One - Never Have I Ever

_"All of them?"_

"Everybody!"

_"Fuck!"_

There was complete silence as Charles looked around at his classmates. He scanned their faces, looking for signs of severe intoxication. Was it too much to hope that all of them were so drunk, that they wouldn't remember what just happened when they woke up the next day?

Unfortunately, that didn't seem to be the case. On the contrary, they all looked like they would never forget.

Realizing that Jack was still on the line, Charles turned his attention to her. His shell-shocked classmates would have to wait.

"Ma'am?" He tried, but there was no answer, only silence. "Ma'am?"

After a long uncomfortable pause, Charles was panicking, not having any idea what he should do. Fortunately, Rodriguez, who had stopped smirking, decided to step in.

"Everything's fine, ma'am," The pretty girl said in a sincere tone.

_"Everything is not fucking fine, Rodriguez," _Jack barked, finally deciding to answer, _"Why the fuck... Who the hell... Arghh! Damn it! I fucking knew it! Shit... Piss... Fuck... Fuck... FUCK..."_

The armada of swear words coming out of Charles' intercom continued for quite a while, until it seemed that Jack's arsenal of profanity, impressive as it was, had reached its limits.

"Ma'am," Vera tried again as Seanne uncovered her ears, "it's okay. Really, it is. We are all okay with it," she said, seeking confirmation from the others.

"Yeah," Kurt managed to get out, "we're fine." The rest were still too shocked to speak.

_"I need a drink," _Jack declared, _"I'm going to get hammered!"_

"Why don't you come down here, ma'am?" Vera suggested, causing Charles to whimper uncomfortably, "Oh come on, Charles! We already know, and we've got enough beer here to intoxicate a krogan. I'm sure we can spare some for Jack."

_"I don't think so, Sunshine," _Jack said dryly.

"We all need to talk about this at some point," Charles admitted. "It might as well be tonight."

_"Fuck! You better have a shitload of beer!"_

"We do."

_"I'll be right down."_

With a _click _the connection was cut, and Charles was left with his five classmates. Vera had, not surprisingly, as she already knew, recovered quickest and was now smiling happily.

As expected, Kurt was quick with a joke. "I'm going to keep an eye on your grades, mate," he told Charles, the usual cheeky grin back on his face.

Charles sighed, but smiled. "I'm not doing this for the grades, Kurt."

"Doing what?" Prangley said, coming to his senses and closing his mouth for the first time in minutes. "What exactly are you and Jack doing?"

"Shagging!" Kurt laughed drunkenly. "Obviously!"

"We're not!" Charles insisted. "We're just.. just... Well, I don't know exactly what we're doing here... But we haven't done _that._"

"Yet," Kurt muttered, but was silenced when Vera punched him in the arm.

"Have the two of you kissed?" She softly asked.

Charles, whose face was now redder than their uniforms, nodded. They had certainly kissed. "Are you all really okay with this?" He nervously asked.

All five of them slowly nodded and Charles breathed a sigh of relief.

"And you're not going to tell anyone?"

"Of course not!" Kurt assured him, opened another beer and handed it to Charles. "Here, mate. You look like you could need it."

Charles laughed a strained laughter. "I wasn't planning on telling you like this... Maybe not at all."

Seanne huffed indignantly. "Not telling us? That's rich! I would have noticed somehow."

"Rodriguez beat you to it, Bellarmine," Kurt laughed. "She already knew, didn't you girl?"

Vera nodded. "Yes."

"You knew? How long has this been going on?" Reiley demanded to know. "Before prom?"

"No," Charles shook his head, "that's where it all started."

"Crazy," Prangley whispered, "what happens if it becomes public knowledge?"

"Jack will be fired for sure," Kurt said grimly.

"You won't tell, will you?" Charles pleaded, unable to keep the panic from his voice.

"We told you already," Prangley smilingly said and slapped his shoulder amicably, "we're not telling anyone."

"Cheers," Charles sighed and raised his bottle. The others mirrored his action and six bottles of cheap beer were clinked together before being emptied by the students of the Ascension Project.

"You can never break up with her, you know that, don't you?" Kurt said and opened a new beer for himself and Vera.

"And why is that?" Charles asked, humoring his heavily intoxicated friend.

"She'll kill you," Kurt simply said, and they all laughed. Even Charles laughed, even though he knew, that Kurt was probably right. He might have gotten himself into a bigger commitment, than he had initially realized, but at that moment, he was simply too happily drunk to care.

"Wow," Seanne said, her eyes big with astonishment, "this is really big."

"Yeah," Reiley agreed, "it's huge."

"That's what she said," Kurt joked, earning himself both laughs and slaps from Vera.

Charles laughed and took the opportunity to look at his friends' faces again. To his relief, they really all appeared to be alright with the information that had been so suddenly revealed to them, although surprise and wonder was still visible in their facial features.

Charles was still worried though. For himself, but even more for Jack. None of them had thought, that it would be a good idea to spread the news of their 'arrangement'. Well, their 'relationship' he'd rather call it, it sounded more real and less like a business deal. Now, with just one phone call, five more people knew, and if just one of them betrayed his trust, he would be ridiculed and possibly expelled. Jack would lose even more.

As he looked at his friends, all busy in conversation or beer drinking, he knew that none of them would betray him. Besides, betraying Charles also meant betraying Jack, who arguably had much more at stake, and it seemed rather unlikely that any of them would dare to do that.

The loud beeping of Charles' doorbell interrupted the lively conversation that had broken out in the room, and all six of them stared at the door. Charles himself had nearly forgot that Jack had agreed to join them.

"Well, go on!" Vera giggled. "Open it!"

Charles slowly got up from his position on the floor and stepped over to the door. He looked back over his shoulder and saw that his classmates were all watching him, apparently itching for him to let Jack in.

"It's a bit weird isn't it?" Reiley asked no-one in particular, "inviting your teacher for drinking on a school night."

"Yes," his sister agreed, "but I doubt Jack has any problems with it."

"It's probably not her biggest concern right now anyway," Prangley added with a smirk.

Charles took a deep breath and turned to the panel controlling his door.

'Here we go,' he thought to himself and opened the door.

"Hi."

"Good evening, ma'am," Charles said to the floor and kept his eyes on a spot between his feet.

"Come on in, ma'am," Kurt helped, breaking an awfully awkward silence. "Grab a beer!"

Jack said nothing but slid past Charles and took a seat on his bed. Charles closed the door after her and trudged back to his spot in the corner, as far away from Jack as possible. He kept his head low and his eyes on the floor.

The instructor anxiously fiddled with her hands as five students continued to stare at her. Finally, Kurt reached over and put a beer in her hands. Having something else to do with her hands, seemed to calm Jack down a bit, and she quickly opened it and poured the content eagerly down her throat. Immediately, she reached for another beer and downed that as well. When nobody said anything, she repeated the process once more, bringing her beer total to three. Impressive, Charles thought, as she had barely spent two minutes in the room.

"Damn," Prangley whistled, impressed.

"Shut the fuck up, Prangley!" Jack snarled, and the student immediately complied.

There was another uncomfortable pause. Jack was clearly not in the mood to talk, and none of the students dared to say a word. Charles opened another beer for himself and drank it as quickly he could, which was nothing compared to Jack.

"I shouldn't be drinking with you like this," Jack finally said, her voice was barely a whisper, "it's unprofessional."

"It's a little late for professionalism, isn't it ma'am?" Kurt drunkenly dared, while not so discretely tilting his head in Charles' direction.

At first, Jack just glared at him, and Kurt suddenly became very small and pale, but then she broke into laughter. "Well, screw you, Nielsen," she chuckled and opened yet another beer, "what have Magnus told you? About... us?"

Vera took Charge. "That this," she pointed between Jack and Charles, "started after prom, that he's not doing it for better grades and that he, obviously, doesn't want us to tell anybody else about it."

"Good," Jack said, sounding a little relieved.

"He also told us that you haven't shagged yet," Kurt bravely, or drunkenly, mentioned.

Charles blushed bright red and wanted nothing more than to throw himself out an airlock.

To his relief, Jack didn't overreact. She simply shrugged and took a zip of her beer. "And you're all... Okay... With this?"She asked and leaned back against the wall.

Slowly but steadily, they all nodded.

"Good," Jack said, "not that I really give a shit, but still, it's nice."

"Do you know any good drinking games, ma'am?" Seanne said, and Charles sent her a grateful look. The change of subject was much appreciated.

"Drinking games?" Jack spat. "What's that about?"

"Let's play 'never have I ever'!" Kurt happily contributed.

"What's that?" Jack and Charles said simultaneously, the latter blushed and turned his attention back to his beer.

"What is it?" Jack asked again.

"A drinking game," Kurt explained, "I'll say something that I have never done, and then everybody who has actually done it has to drink."

"Why?"

"Those are the rules."

"Yeah, but..." Jack looked completely lost. "We're all here, trying to get completely tanked, and you're saying that we should play a game where drinking is considered a punishment?"

"It's fun," Kurt assured the confused instructor.

"If you say so," Jack shrugged.

"I'll start," Kurt announced and cleared his throat. "Ahem, never have I ever been involved in a student/teacher relationship."

Both Charles and Jack stared at him and then at each other before taking a drink.

"Cheeky bastard," Jack muttered, but winked at Charles, whose turn it now was.

"Never have I ever," Charles started, "been an obnoxious, drunk, little, blond wanker named Kurt Nielsen."

All of them, Kurt included, laughed and the wanker in question took his punishment without complaints.

The game continued and even Jack had to admit, that it was at least a little entertaining. Both she and Charles certainly learned a few interesting things about their fellow students.

"Never have I ever kissed a girl," Seanne said when it was her turn. Reiley, Prangley and Kurt immediately raised their drinks in a toast, and a few moments later Charles remembered that he, two days ago, had kissed Jack, his first kiss. Quickly, he raised his own beer and toasted with the others. All four boys immediately spat out their beer in surprise when both Jack and Vera took a sip as well.

"Rodriguez!" Prangley shouted. "Who?"

"I don't have to tell you," Vera said and crossed her arms defiantly, "it's not part of the rules."

"Pretty please, with sugar on top," Prangley begged, his eyes as big and sparkling as a kid's on Christmas morning.

"Alright," Vera agreed, "it was with one of my friends back on Terra Nova. We got a little experimental once."

"Hot!" Prangley cheered. "Hey Nielsen, isn't your girlfriend on Terra Nova a friend of Rodriguez's?"

"She is," Kurt said and saw that Vera's face was quickly turning scarlet, "hang on! You and Maria... MY MARIA! You've.. You've kissed?"

"Once!" Vera squealed.

"Awesome!" Kurt yelled and high-fived Prangley. "You gotta do that again sometime, but this time, let me watch!"

"Perv," Vera scolded, but smiled all the same. "What about you, ma'am," she said and turned to Jack.

"You said it yourself, Rodriguez. It's not a part of the game. I don't have to tell."

"But I just told mine."

"Not my fucking problem!"

"I'm sure Magnus would like to know," Prangley said, a stupid grin on his face.

Charles really did want to know, but he kept his attention on the beer in front of him.

"Please ma'am," Rodriguez tried again, "you've already told us about your past. Kissing a girl will hardly stand out."

"So why the fuck do you want to know?"

"Ma'am, please!"

"Honestly," Jack said sincerely, "there were several, and I don't remember most of their names. Fucking bitches!"

"Well, that was exciting," Kurt deadpanned.

"I aim to please," Jack countered dryly, "no seriously, they're all probably dead by now."

"Snogged some old birds, have you, ma'am?" Kurt asked, thoroughly enjoying making Jack uncomfortable, but she didn't even blush.

"Not old, no. But I either killed them or left them to die."

The students got very quiet and just stared at her.

"Oh, they were all criminals too," Jack added with a shrug, as if that made it perfectly okay.

Kurt turned to Charles, who looked horrified. "This worries you a bit, doesn't it, mate?"

Charles slowly nodded. "A bit."

"My turn!" Jack announced, commandingly.

The tone of her voice left no doubt with the students. This conversation was over, and it was Jack's turn to say something she had never done. They had played quite a few rounds of 'never have I ever', and Charles was suspecting that Jack was running out of things she had never done.

"Never have I ever," Jack said and took a long pause before displaying a wry smile, "had an awesome teacher."

The students all laughed, but none of them drank.

"You better drink it up, you bitches!" Jack warned. They all did.

-X-X-X-

"Ouch," Kurt said at lunch, their first meal of the day.

Charles completely agreed. He too had a splitting headache from last night's drinking.

"Maybe we should try Jack's hangover method," Prangley suggested.

"Drinking more?" Charles said incredulously, "I don't think I'll be able to hold it down if I do."

"And we can't just drink in the middle of Orion Hall," Vera mumbled, her face buried in her lunch tray.

"There's still a lot of beers in my room," Charles pointed out.

"We could always try it," Kurt sighed.

"Morning," Jack said, a bit too enthusiastically, as she joined them at their table.

"Morning," Charles and his friends croaked back.

"Hangover, huh?" Jack snickered happily and looked at her students, who all looked, and probably felt, like shit. "I'm perfectly fine, myself. Thanks for asking."

"Glad to hear it, ma'am," Kurt sarcastically muttered, holding a glass of cold water against his forehead.

The instructor asked them to follow her to the classroom. There were a few complaints, and an argument was made, that they weren't supposed to have any lessons until three hours later. Jack, however, completely silenced their grumbling by threatening to hand them over to Wolff for some unscheduled physical punishment in the gym. And so, half an hour later, the six students of the Ascension Project's advanced class were seated at their desks in the usual classroom.

"Don't look so fucking sad," Jack said from her position atop her own desk. The students, whose faces had been buried in their arms or on their desks, looked up. "I have something fun for you to do today. It may even help you with your headaches."

"How?" Seanne said, sounding utterly unconvinced that Jack would be able to entertain her, not to mention curing her hangover.

"More drinking?" Her brother huffed.

"Exactly," Jack said with a smirk and drew out a bag from under her desk. The contents of the bag gave a suspicious clinking sound as Jack rummaged through it. With a victorious grin, she withdrew a miniature bottle of liquor, vodka, if Charles guessed correctly. "I've got all sorts of good shit in here," Jack said, still smiling.

"And you want us to drink it?" Prangley asked, "just like that?"

"Well, yes and no," Jack mysteriously answered. "I want you to drink these... By the way, you probably shouldn't tell Sanders about this... But I want you to earn it first."

This seemed to pique Vera's interest. "Earn it, ma'am?"

"It's a quiz!" Jack happily announced, "I will ask you questions, and if you answer correctly, you will be rewarded with one of my little friends." She shook the bag, making the many small bottles clink. "As I said, it will be fun, educational and it may even take away your headache."

"Or make it worse," Seanne whispered.

"I'm not really sure that's a good idea, ma'am," Vera said worriedly.

"Of course it is!" Prangley cheered, as always, his mood lightened as soon as he caught the scent of competition. He never missed an opportunity to compare his own talents or wits with others.

Jack's smile broadened. "See? Prangley thinks it's a good idea!"

Kurt snorted. "That's your first and best clue, that it's probably a bad one."

Jack merely smiled at this and made herself more comfortable on top of her desk, while the students continued to look skeptical, at best, about her quiz.

"What is the quiz about?" Vera finally asked, trying to move things along.

"The questions can be about anything that has happened since I started working here," Jack explained. "Anything that I taught you, anything that I told you, about myself or otherwise."

"Interesting," Vera allowed.

"It will show me how much you've paid attention to detail," Jack continued. "Let's get this started," she rattled the bag of miniature liquors again, "I have a shitload of booze here."

"Okay, first question," the instructor began, when the students had finally abandoned all hope of not having the quiz. "What is the name of Oriana Lawson's older sister?"

"Miranda," chorused the four male students in the same dreamy tone.

"Correct!" Jack announced and threw the four boys a miniature bottle each. "Perverts!"

"Want her cup size too?" Prangley asked with a grin, catching his earned liquor.

Before Jack could answer, Seanne had whirled around in her chair, laughing scornfully. "How could you possibly know her cup size, Prangley?"

The young man shrugged. "I'm good at assessing..." He looked at Seanne for a brief moment and then added smugly: "..Miss 34B."

"That's not..." Seanne squealed, but her complaints were belied by her flushing cheeks.

"Impressive," Kurt whispered, a huge smile on his face.

"Let's move on," Jack suggested. "You are not allowed to answer a question until you've finished the prizes, you've already won." She looked at the four males. None of them had even looked at their "rewards" yet.

"Shit! I've got batarian brandy!" Reiley complained.

"Elcor schnapps for me," Kurt said, disgusted. "Want to swap?"

"Nah, I'm good."

Charles looked at his own bottle, which was a familiar looking brand of earth-made rum. "I've got rum," he announced, feeling adventurous, "human. I'll swap with either one of you."

"Are you crazy?" Prangley said, desperately clinging to his own little bottle of Asari liquor, which must have been deemed inoffensive in comparison to what Kurt and Reiley had been handed.

Charles shrugged. "I'll try anything once."

Kurt laughed and quickly swapped his bottle of elcor schnapps with Charles' rum. "I love you, mate!"

Simultaneously, the four boys opened their bottles and poured the contents down their throats.

Charles looked around. The three others winced as they swallowed the liquor. Reiley, who was stuck with the batarian brandy, even broke out into a coughing fit, until his sister started hitting him between the shoulder blades.

At first, Charles couldn't feel anything wrong with the schnapps. It had been like taking a shot of water. Tasteless and uneventful. The elcor beverage, however, hit his head like a freight train. Ten seconds later, his eyesight started to dwindle, until he finally passed out.

"Charles!"

"Ungh.."

"Charles! Can you hear me?"

It was a familiar voice. Vera's voice.

"What happened?" Charles asked, raising his head from the desktop where it had landed. The other students looked at him with a mixture of worry and entertainment on their faces.

"Elcor schnapps," Jack said, still seated on her desk, "will cause humans to lose consciousness for a brief period of time, but at least it's completely tasteless."

"Hooray," Charles sarcastically cheered. "How long was I gone?"

"Just a few seconds."

Vera, who looked more worried than anyone else, looked at him apologetically. "We probably should have told you that that would happen."

"Would have been nice."

"He wanted to try new things," Kurt said happily, "And if he'd known, then he would have never swapped with me."

"Probably not," Charles admitted. There was a funny tingling feeling in his head, but otherwise, he was completely fine. The headache from last night's drinking was completely gone, but if that was because Jack's hangover cure was actually working, or if it was a result of the schnapps, Charles didn't know. Jack said that drinking alcohol was the solution, but maybe she ought to specify the brand of liquor to elcor schnapps, which certainly seemed to have the desired effect. Losing consciousness, however, was a considerable downside.

"Anymore of those in that bag of yours?" He asked, pointing to Jack's liquor-filled accessory.

The instructor shook her head. "That was my last one. Ready for question number two?"

The students all nodded.

-X-X-X-

It had been almost two hours, and the number of prizes, in the form of different kinds of liquor - some of rather dubious character - in Jack's bag was dwindling. The instructor had started rewarding herself with a bottle for every question correctly answered by her students, and the mood was unlike anything Charles had ever experienced in a classroom.

"Next question!" Vera demanded before emptying the bottle of American bourbon, she had just won for remembering which song had been playing while Charles tried to teach them all to dance the jitterbug.

Jack looked thoughtful for a moment. She had long since abandoned her list of planned questions. Too many of them were boring theoretical questions, and they had all agreed that it was much more fun if Jack just made up the questions.

"What was the name of the chef/plumber on the Normandy?" Jack finally asked, opening another bottle, not even bothering to check the label, before turning the bottom towards the ceiling.

"Grant!" Kurt shouted, "No, Graham!"

Jack shook her head, smiling.

"Donnelly?" Prangley tried, "No he was the engineer."

"Joker," Vera drunkenly slurred, but everybody else booed. They all knew that he was the helmsman.

Charles searched his mind, which, by now, was a haze of booze.

"Gardner!" He suddenly yelled. "Mess Sergeant Gardner!"

"Yay!" Kurt cheered and Charles received a generous round of applause from everybody, including Jack.

"There's only seven bottles left," the instructor announced, withdrawing said bottles from her bag. "I say we take one each and call it a day."

"Agreed," Kurt said, holding Vera up to stop her from keeling over, "but someone else should probably take Rodriguez' last shot."

"I volunteer!" Charles said happily. "I got the name right after all."

"Fair enough," Jack agreed and tossed him two bottles of different asari liquor.

By now, Vera was halfway asleep on her desk, but the rest of them got to their feet and raised their mini bottles.

"Cheers!"

In his drunken state, Charles could no longer register the differences in the taste of the liquids he drank, but the burning sensation in his throat was still there, and he gasped for air, and a cool drink of water, as he emptied the last bottle.

"Fun class," Prangley said, leaning back in his chair, clearly satisfied by the number of empty miniature bottles on his desk, which obviously meant that he had done fairly decent in the quiz.

"Yes," Reiley agreed, "but we'll probably end up with yet another hangover again tomorrow."

"Most likely," Seanne giggled. "Rodriguez will for sure!"

"She probably should have dumbed her down when we were still on the theory questions," Kurt said and played with a strand of his sleeping friend's dark hair. "She really killed herself there, didn't she?"

Charles nodded distractedly, as Jack had begun collecting the empty containers from their desks. He hadn't had a chance to talk to her since their relationship, or whatever exactly it was, had been revealed to his classmates the previous evening, and to say that he was curious to hear her thoughts would be a massive understatement.

"Remember guys," Jack said seriously, "don't tell Sanders, or anybody else for that matter, that we've been doing this. It's probably not a good idea."

"I've noticed, ma'am..." Kurt answered, smiling broadly, "...that with a lot of the things - or chaps - you've been doing lately, you've wanted us to keep them a secret."

"That's right! Joke all you want, Nielsen, but do you really want to know what I'll do to you if you start blabbering?"

Kurt swallowed. "No, ma'am."

"You should consider yourself lucky, that I haven't killed you already, Nielsen..." Jack calmly informed the blond student, "...talking about chaps I may or may not have been doing lately..."

"_Haven't _been doing lately," Charles corrected, but then realized how this could be interpreted by Jack. "Not that I'm complaining... I was just... I'm just.."

"I know," Jack said, smiling. "We'll have to do something about that, won't we?"

Charles felt his face turn completely red with embarrassment, and he was unable to speak. His classmates and Jack all laughed at him, which only cause him to turn even redder.

"You should all get back to your rooms," Jack said when the laughter had died down. "Make sure to avoid raising suspicion."

"We're in Ascension Hall," Prangley dryly remarked. "We'll have to pass right by the head director's office to get out, and all the corridors will be full of kids at this time of the afternoon."

"You'll have to act sober," Jack said, shrugging, "but if Sanders sees you, run! She'll catch on to you right away."

"She'll think we're bonkers if we just run away from her," Kurt interjected.

"I'd rather have her think that you're crazy, than finding out that I've been using alcohol to motivate you during school hours."

"Fair enough, but what about Rodriguez, ma'am?"

"Can't you wake her up, Nielsen?"

Kurt tried to bring his friend back to life, even slapping her a few times, but nothing he did had any effect. "Nah, she's gone."

"I can carry her," Prangley offered, "we can pretend that she had an accident or something."

"Not taking advantage of the situation to cop a feel, are we big guy?" Jack laughed, pointing to Vera, whose breasts were squeezed between the weight of her body and the desk. "What size are those, by the way, Mister Chest Assessment?"

"34D," Prangley calmly said in a professional tone. "I'll take Nielsen, Bellarmine and his lovely sister, Miss 34B, with me, in case I'm tempted to try anything... un-chivalrous."

"Mister Chest Assessment is a bit of an asshole," Seanne muttered and zipped up both her own and Vera's uniforms to better hide their attributes, but she agreed to follow him and the others all the same, and they quickly hurried out into the hallway, Vera's limp body casually thrown over Prangley's broad shoulder.

"You going too?" Jack asked Charles, the only remaining student, as she replaced the last empty miniature bottles in her bag.

"I'm not in a hurry," Charles said and rose from his chair. Instead, he took a seat on Jack's desk, carefully monitoring her movements, which were slightly slowed or wobbly from the two hours of drinking that had just gone by.

"Good," she said and tossed the bag on the floor. "I wanted to talk to you."

Charles was confused. He couldn't figure out if she was angry with him. Perhaps she somehow blamed him for revealing their secret to the others, but that thought was immediately killed when Jack took a few long steps to the desk where he was sat and passionately pressed her lips against his. Immediately, she forced his mouth open with her tongue, and Charles could feel her quickened breaths and taste the alcohol in her mouth, mixing with the taste of those two last bottles of asari liquor he had had.

Still sitting on the desk, he put his arms around Jack's torso and rested his hands on the small of her back. Jack deepened the kiss, becoming rather violent and actually pulling Charles' hair to make his head move the way she wanted it to.

"I thought you wanted to talk?" Charles managed to say, gasping for air, as Jack eventually pulled back a little.

"Sometimes. Girls. Say. Things. But. They. Mean. Something. Completely. Different," Jack said, kissing him deeper and deeper for each word.

"I'll try to remember that the next time you give us homework, ma'am."

"Oh, shut up, Magnus!" Jack seductively groaned and pushed him hard in the chest, making him fall back until he was lying on his back upon her desk. She didn't waste a single second jumping on top of him, and as she sat there, straddling him, Charles suddenly became very aware of his swollen manhood pressing against Jack's inner thigh. He blushed and turned his head.

"Hey!" Jack said, grabbing his chin and turning his head to face her. "You've done nothing wrong, Magnus. Frankly, I would be disappointed if your body didn't react to any of this at all."

Charles slowly nodded, but was suddenly too nervous to say anything.

"Maybe we shouldn't do this here?" Jack suggested, following Charles' nervous glance towards the classroom door.

He nodded, still too flustered to talk.

"You're nodding," Jack giggled cutely, "what's that supposed to mean? You want to do it here, or you agree that we shouldn't do it here?"

Charles nodded again, before realizing how stupid that was.

"N-not here," he managed in a stuttering whisper.

"Alright," Jack said, jumping off of him and picking up her bag of empty bottles from the floor. "I'll see you in my office at midnight. Get some sleep, sober up a bit."

Charles was just about to complain, unable to see how sobering up would make him less nervous, but on the other hands, he would rather have his first time not be one of the drunken fiascos he had heard about from Kurt and Prangley.

"Deal," he said instead, as Jack walked out the door, a seductive smile on her lips.

At least he had gotten the last word, even if he had been too nervous to speak just a minute earlier, getting the last word was always something, he childishly thought.

"See you, Magnus," Jack said, popping her head back into view at the door.

_Damn it!_

* * *

_A/N:_

_Let's start out by saying how sorry I am for letting you guys wait a little longer than usually, but I'm starting my education next monday, and I also have to move, so there's a lot of shit going on in the real world for me as well._

_However, I want to make it clear, that I will not abandon "Biotic Beginnings" under any circumstances, but you may experience longer intervals between updating the chapters in the near future._

_With that out of the way. A few words about this chapter._

_A bit of fluff, the meaning of which I've learned recently (thanks to Chevy99 for aiding a newbie like myself), in this chapter. There are some major things happening (like Charles' friends finding learning about him and Jack), but it's all wrapped in a warm blanket of fluffiness (in this case, a drinking game)._

_Generally, I think, a lot of drinking in this chapter, but that's not really my fault. Jack didn't give me much choice. Well, if you don't like to read about teenage drinking, this story is probably not for you (but I guess you will have decided that already), because Jack is, if not exactly a raging alcoholic, certainly not a stranger to the bliss of alcohol. Though, I realize that my characters may or may not have been intoxicated during 90 % of this chapter, I can promise you all, that won't be the case in the next chapter._

_Some of you may be a bit cross with me for breaking off Jack and Charles' lovemaking on the desk. If you're in that group, you'll probably like the next chapter. *Wink Wink*_

_ If you're thankful that I stopped it there, or maybe a bit pissed that I even went there in the first place, the next chapter might actually kill you, as I intend to make use of the "M"-rating I've given this story._

_But let me know what you all think, if you think I should stay clear of those scenes (maybe because you think I'm rubbish at writing romance) please tell me so. If enough of you are against it, I will promise to at least consider doing things another way._

_As always, I'd like to thank you guys for sticking with me, you are great, and I enjoy your reviews so much. If I forget to reply, you completely justified in calling me a rude bastard in your next review :)_

Welcome to any new readers as well.

_All of you are welcome to drop me a PM at any time with suggestions, comments, advice, questions or anything else. Reviews are greatly appreciated as well. Let me know what you think. I want to make this story the best it can be, and your critique is my greatest tool._

_Phew! Lengthy "Author's note", but what can I say: I enjoy being able to write directly to you guys as well as through the characters in the story._

_Peace out_

_- Simon_


	22. Rookie

_A/N: Warning! As hinted in chapter twenty-one, this chapter contains sexual material. This story is M-rated for a reason (besides the cursing). If that is not your sort of thing, fair warning, this will not be the last time, this story goes down that path. If it is your sort of thing, enjoy. You may want to re-read chapter twenty-one for the best experience._

Chapter Twenty-Two – Rookie

It was after curfew, well after curfew. Ascension Hall was dark, except for the beam of light coming out of Head Director Sanders' office door. Charles was sneaking making his way down the corridor, slowly and quietly. Being caught out of bed after curfew was not something, he wanted to try.

"Shit," he muttered to himself, noticing how difficult it would be to slip past Lieutenant Sanders' open office door without being seen. The otherwise dark hallway was bathed in a soft yellow light outside her door. Apparently, the head director was working late this evening. Holding his breath, Charles pressed himself against the wall opposite of Sanders' office. Standing just outside the lighted area, he silently sighed before making his way past the open office door as quickly and quietly as possible.

For a second, Charles smiled, believing that he had made it past, but then Sanders called from her office.

"Hold it right there, Magnus!"

_Damn it! So close!_

Charles wondered, if he should make a run for it, but since he had already been identified by the head director, he didn't see much point to it. She would just find him later, and then he would be in trouble for disobeying a direct order as well as breaking curfew.

"Come back here, Magnus!" Sanders ordered, firmly.

Charles took a deep breath and took a few step backwards, back into the light escaping from the open office door. "Yes, ma'am," he said, greeting Lieutenant Sanders with a polite, but guilty nod. The blonde head director was sitting at her desk, holding a data-pad loosely in her hand.

"It's after curfew," Sanders noted and looked at her watch, "it's almost two o'clock, Ensign Magnus. What are you doing out this late?"

Knowing that he couldn't answer that question truthfully, Charles had to make up a story. Sadly, he didn't come up with anything even remotely useful. "I was… I was just…"

"Were you visiting a girl, Magnus?" Sanders asked, a smile playing on her lips.

Charles blushed, because, technically, he had been visiting a girl. Probably not the one, the head director thought, but he had indeed been visiting a girl.

Sanders noticed the flush of his cheeks and let out a soft laugh. "I see. Who was it?"

Charles took a few steps forward, moving from the doorway and into the actual office. He sensed, that the lieutenant was in a good mood, and his anxiety calmed a bit. "I'm sorry ma'am, but I don't kiss and tell."

"Oh, come on, Charles. You can tell me!"

Charles laughed. "You're worse than Rodriguez, ma'am."

"Rodriguez, huh? You're awfully quick to mention her name. I'll bet she's the one!"

Charles shrugged mysteriously. "Maybe," he teased.

"Treat her well," Sanders said in a warning tone, obviously still believing that he had been visiting Vera, "she's a nice girl."

"That she is," Charles agreed.

There was a silent pause between them. Sanders stared him down, still trying to figure out, if she had guessed correctly. Finally, she spoke again, but she had changed the subject.

"You stopped Mister Snow in the chase exercise. Do you know, how you did it?"

Charles nodded. "Biotic charge. Prangley told me about it."

"Right," Sanders said, smiling. "It's not a common skill, you know? Not even among powerful biotics."

"I know," Charles said, "Prangley mentioned that too."

"It would seem that we were right. You have huge biotic potential."

Charles laughed humorlessly, and stuck his hands in the pockets of his sweatpants. "Too bad I can't do it on purpose, huh?"

"It will come, just wait and see," Sanders said softly.

"So you keep saying," Charles replied bitterly.

Sanders smiled at him, sympathetically. "I wouldn't say it, if I didn't truly believe it."

For some weird reason, Charles believed her, or at least, he believed that she believed. For now, that would have to be good enough.

"You know, Magnus," Sanders said, thankfully changing the subject, "if you told me who your little girlfriend is, maybe I wouldn't have to give you a detention for breaking curfew."

Charles laughed, genuinely this time. "Extortion, ma'am. Really?"

"Well, it was worth a try," Sanders giggled.

"Certainly," Charles said, "so, what's my punishment?"

"Nothing." She smiled overbearingly. "Sergeant Wolff punished you unfairly for the biotic charge, so, at least in my book, the academy owes you one get-out-of-jail-free-card. Besides, wanting to spend some time in the arms of your girlfriend, Vera Rodriguez, is a misdemeanor to me."

"Right, Vera Rodriguez," Charles snickered.

"Please tell me who it really is, then?"

"Sorry."

"Damn it!"

"So I can go?" Charles asked, smiling broadly and pointing to the still open door with his thumb.

"Yes, alright… But if somebody else catches you, they will probably give you another detention, and there's nothing I can do about it."

"I understand, thank you, ma'am. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Magnus," Sanders said, as Charles turned and walked out of the office.

He couldn't believe his luck. He had gotten away with breaking curfew, no punishment at all, and he had done it without revealing to the head director, where he had actually been.

"Hang on," Sanders called from her office to Charles, who had stepped back into the dark corridor, "if you were visiting a girl… Why are you here in Ascension Hall?"

Charles heart stopped beating for just a moment. How would he get out of this one? Unable to come up with any appropriate lies, he did the only thing, he could. He ran.

Charles sprinted down Ascension Hall until he slammed against the door. His heartbeat was pounding in his ears, and he couldn't hear, if Sanders was shouting after him or not. Frantically, he slapped the door's panel, making it open and allowing him to make his escape out into the common corridors. He continued running out into the dark, away from Ascension Hall. Finally, he reached an empty classroom in what he believed to be the maths department. He snuck inside to catch his breath and calm his nerves before sneaking, much more stealthily, back to his own room.

What a night it had been.

- -X - - X - - X - -

**3 hours earlier.**

Charles' alarm clock woke him up at 11 PM, and to his great surprise, he didn't have a headache. If this was because of Jack's hangover cure, the Elcor schnapps or just pure luck, he didn't know. He stretched and yawned before getting out of bed. Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, he picked out some clothes, grabbed a towel and headed out into the hallway. After a short walk, he reached his destination, the boys' bathroom. After a quick shower, he brushed his teeth and put on his clothes. He had chosen a pair of black sweat pants along with one of his burgundy red Ascension Project t-shirts. As he walked back to his room, he started to get nervous. After what had happened between Jack and himself that afternoon, there was little doubt what she expected of him tonight.

He realized that he was both very, very excited, but also equally terrified. Virginity still intact and without any other kinds of close quarter contact experience to draw from, doing what he was about to do with Jack was easily as scary as it was exciting. Not having any experience with women was a huge disadvantage, and since Jack wasn't like any other woman he knew, he had no idea what would happen tonight. The hallways were practically empty by now, so close to curfew. Only a few students were still out and about, and the lighting in the corridors had already been dimmed to a minimum.

Charles reached his room and got rid of his dirty clothes and the wet towel, before continuing towards Ascension Hall. The whirling sensation in his stomach became stronger and stronger, the closer he got to her office door. Eventually, he was standing right in front of it, but he didn't press the doorbell. He was panicking. Trying to stop his heart from galloping, he took a few very deep breaths and paced back in forth in front of the office door belonging to Jacqueline Nought, Instructor of Ascension Project's advanced class.

Speaking encouraging words to himself, he took one last, deep breath and stopped in front of the door. Quickly, not giving himself time to chicken out, he reached out and pressed the green-lit panel, activating Jack's doorbell.

After a few seconds, the door opened, revealing Jack standing in the middle of her office, wearing a silk night robe with a white and red dragon pattern. The design looked a little Asian, but Charles was too occupied with how short the thing was to actually appreciate the design. He could see most of his instructor's tattooed thighs, and he had to swallow hard. She looked incredibly sexy.

"H-hi" he stuttered.

"Hello," Jack huskily said and closed the door behind him.

- X - - X - - X- -

Jack was pacing back and forth in her office. She had put on her silk night robe; a gift Kelly Chambers and Tali had once bought for her on Illium. She didn't really appreciate it at that time, but now, she loved the feel of the silk against her skin. Her hair was flipped to one side, as she had started to wear it once in a while and she was now impatiently awaiting the arrival of one of her students. A very special one of her students.

She was starting to think, that he was a no-show, when the doorbell finally rang. Her face lit up in a smile, but she quickly wiped it off. Grinning like a fucking idiot wasn't her. Recollecting herself, she opened the door.

Magnus stood frozen in the hallway, staring at her. She enjoyed the way his mouth and eyes opened a little more when he looked at her.

"H-hi," he managed to say. The poor thing was so nervous; he could barely stay on his feet. Surprisingly, Jack could feel that she too was a little bit nervous. The nervousness was drowned out by her lust, but it was definitely there.

"Hello," she said, doing her best to sound as seductive and mysterious as possible. The flush of the young man's cheeks as he stepped into her office told her, that she had succeeded. She smirked and closed the door behind him.

Normally, Jack approached sex very casually. She knew this, but didn't really care. This time was different though. With Charles Magnus, it was like preparing for a fight with Shepard's crew: Unlike all her previous fights, she had had a cause worth fighting for, and it had helped her fight stronger, harder and longer. She wanted to protect the rest of the Normandy crew and that gave her a purpose. She felt the exact same way about her students. She would give her life to save theirs. That was the downside in her new, improved personality: The vulnerability. Actually caring about other people was difficult for her, because it seemed like weakness, when she feared for their safety. That was, she thought, probably why she felt slightly nervous about having Magnus in her office that night; she cared about him. Probably more than she wanted to admit. Even to herself. Thankfully, her lust still overpowered all her other emotions, and as she stepped closer, the feeling grew with every inch she came nearer to him.

- X - - X - - X- -

Charles could feel the heat in his face, and he knew that by now, his cheeks were most likely beet red. His knees were shaking too, violently.

"Nervous?" Jack asked, gazing into his eyes.

Charles nodded, his lips wouldn't move anymore.

Jack stepped even closer. He could smell her scent now. She had obviously just showered, he could tell, because her hair looked damp and a flowery fragrance reached his nostrils. The perfume was intoxicating, and he was certain, that Jack had never smelled like this in the time they had known each other. He would definitely have noticed. The instructor kept her eyes locked with his, until Charles, whose palms were sweatier than after an hour in the gym, couldn't take it anymore and moved his gaze to a spot next to his right foot.

"Hey," Jack whispered softly, stopping right in front of him. She put a hand under his chin and forced him to look into her eyes again. "It's okay to be nervous, you know?"

He nodded once more, his heart still galloping, and Jack continued, smilingly. "It's kind of perfect, don't you think? You're a rookie, and I'm a professional teacher."

"Hah, professional…" he snorted.

"Shut up," Jack giggled and slapped his cheek playfully. "But at least you're not too nervous to make jokes."

Just talking to Jack like this, joking and laughing, made Charles relax, and he managed to maintain eye contact with her. "How are you tonight, ma'am?" he asked, feeling a little uncomfortable with the sudden silence between them.

"Oh shut the fuck up, Ensign Magnus," Jack said and pushed him back until his back hit the closed office door, which locked itself upon his accidental graze of the panel. "Did you come here to small talk?" she hissed before pressing her lips against his, not waiting for an answer.

Pinning him against the now locked office door, Jack continued to kiss him. More and more forcefully, her tongue explored his mouth until she pulled back, only to squat down until her face was at the waistband of his sweatpants. She moaned, sensing his erection under the thin layer of fabric, but instead of working on his pants, she started to pull up his t-shirt, kissing his abs as more and more of his stomach was revealed to her. She looked up at him, keeping her lips against the skin above his navel, and their eyes met. Quickly, Charles pulled up the t-shirt the rest of the way and over his head, trying not to laugh as Jack had begun tickling his stomach with her mouth. The t-shirt was haphazardly thrown into the corner of the office, and Jack continued to kiss her way up Charles' chest, then his neck and his chin, before reaching his mouth. This time, Charles kissed her back instead of simply being kissed.

He put his hands on her sides and started to move them up and down the soft silk fabric of her night robe. As he reached lower, to her naked thighs, the fabric was pushed up, and he realized, the Jack wasn't wearing anything at all underneath her robe.

He blushed and quickly removed his hands. Jack giggled, took his hands and placed them back on her hips. "Don't be such a pussy, Magnus," she said and kissed him again.

Charles laughed against her lips and picked her up into his arms. He carried her over to her desk, swiped the few objects over the edge and onto the floor and sat her down on the tabletop. Slowly and very seductively, Jack untied the sash holding her robe together. Charles heart started beating faster and faster while Jack let the robe slide off her shoulders, revealing her breasts.

Jack smiled, whipped the silk sash around his neck and used it to pull him close for another passionate kiss. She leaned back, pulling him with her, until she was lying on her back with Charles on top. The robe fell completely open, allowing Charles to see her entire naked body.

"Wow," he whispered and started to kiss down his instructor's neck. His lips brushed a patch of skin that felt a little different than the rest of her neck, and he pulled his head back to see what it was.

Underneath the colorful pattern of Jack's tattoo-covered skin there was a scar running all the way down to her collar bone. Charles traced it with his index finger.

"Cerberus?" he asked, feeling the anger bubbling within him.

"Mhmm," Jack confirmed, "got that when I was nine."

"Bastards," Charles muttered and licked the length of the scar, all the way back up to her jaw. Jack moaned satisfied, and Charles kissed his way back down again. Reaching the valley between her breasts, he softly circled her nipples with his tongue before gently biting them.

He moved further down, following the ink-covered scars on her stomach with his tongue. He licked right past her sex and continued down her thigh instead.

"You fucking tease!" Jack moaned and wrapped her legs around his torso, forcing his mouth back to her center.

Jack breathed heavily as he started to lick her most sensitive spot. Faster and faster his tongue moved, until Jack grabbed him by the hair and pulled his head up. Charles looked into her eyes, which were wild with pleasure.

"I need you… In me… Now!" she panted and used her biotics to levitate him up into the air. Instinctively, Charles struggled at first, but as Jack started to float him towards her bedroom door, he began to relax.

The instructor slapped the door panel and steered the still airborne student through the opening. Keeping him in the air, she relieved him of his shoes and socks and threw them on the floor.

Suddenly, Charles was slammed against the bedroom wall, his feet still dangling a couple of inches above the floor.

"Hmfgh," he grunted as his back collided with the cold metal wall. He was just about to complain when Jack jumped over and literally ripped his sweatpants off, leaving him biotically pinned against the wall in just his black boxer briefs.

Jack sent him flying across her bedroom once more with just a flick of her wrist, and Charles ended up hovering horizontally five feet over her bed. The naked instructor smirked, winked and let him drop.

Charles gasped at the sudden free fall when Jack released her biotic hold on him, but as soon as he had started dropping, he landed in Jack's bed.

Jack jumped onto the bed as well and started crawling, very seductively, towards him. Reaching the waistband of his boxer briefs, she looked at him and licked her lips before starting to pull the underpants down with her teeth.

Finally, Jack had managed to remove the last remaining piece of clothing on him, and they both lay completely naked in her bed. With gentle hands, Jack started to stroke his manhood, which immediately reacted to her touch.

Charles closed his eyes and rested his head on one of Jack's pillows. He managed to slow down his breath and relax a little, but it wasn't easy. How Jack was touching him felt really nice.

"mmmmh," he moaned and Jack smirked, stroking him a little slower.

"I think we're ready," Jack huskily said and swung one leg over him, so she was straddling him. Slowly, she guided his throbbing member to her entrance, and without further hesitation, she lowered herself onto him.

The moment he entered her, Charles felt shivers down his spine, and his mind went completely blank. When she started bouncing up and down on him, Charles was so caught up in the moment, that he wouldn't have been able to add two and two together. He doubted if he could remember his own name, it felt _that_ good.

"Ha ha ha ha," Jack breathed as she rode him.

Charles could feel himself nearing his point of no return and he tensed up.

"Don't you fucking dare, Magnus!" Jack screamed, clawing his chest. "Not yet!"

Still clinging on to each other, the couple rolled in the bed, bringing Charles on top. Gently, he started thrusting, but Jack made him stop by grabbing the back of his head and pulling him closer.

"Magnus," she said huskily, "I'm not going to break, so you better fuck me good, understand?"

"Aye, ma'am," Charles replied, performing a salute while cranking up the pace.

Jack winced beneath him, he knew she hated it when she was saluted, but right now, she was too busy screaming from pleasure to complain.

Suddenly, Jack's entire body shook and she tightened around his length. She let out a loud moan and her nails dug into his shoulders. She had reached her climax.

Vigorously, Charles continued thrusting until he too couldn't hold back any longer. He collapsed on top of Jack as he emptied himself in her.

The instructor kissed his forehead. "Well you did, my young padawan," she whispered.

Charles snorted. "Star wars? Really, ma'am?"

"I love that shit," Jack giggled. "Now, roll off! You're kind of heavy."

Charles complied and lay down beside his teacher instead. "Wow," he sighed.

"Good, huh?"

"Incredible!"

"I aim to please," Jack said, pressing her body against his.

"Clearly," Charles agreed, wrapping his arm around her naked body.

"You weren't half bad yourself, you know… For a rookie"

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"It was meant as one."

"I have a very good teacher, I give her credit for any skill I might have," Charles whispered softly in Jack's ear.

"I'll take that as a compliment," Jack giggled.

"Well," Charles said, squeezing her tightly, "It was meant as one."

- X - - X - - X- -

Both of them still completely naked, Jack nuzzled her head on Magnus' chest, trying to match her own breathing to his. It wasn't hard, since his heaving chest raised and lowered her in a steady rhythm. His arm was still around her, but they had also covered themselves with Jack's bed sheet. Grissom Academy was, after all, a space station, and thus not very warm.

This was very unusual for her, Jack thought. She had never gotten cozy with someone she just had sex with like she did with Magnus. Earlier, she would have asked him to fuck off the moment she was done with him. Maybe she would even have killed him, like a fucking praying mantis. But in this moment, as she lay there, his naked body against hers, there were lots of things she wanted to do to him. Killing him wasn't anywhere near the top of that list.

Both during the sex and after, she felt a strange, tingling sensation in her stomach. Not unpleasant, not at all. Just very, very strange. Completely new to her. As of late, it seemed to happen every time Ensign Charles Magnus was in her thoughts, which had been quite often in the previous days.

"Love?" she whispered to herself, wondering if that was what it really felt like.

"Did you say something?" Magnus asked, his lips just inches from her ear.

Jack rolled around so she was facing him, their noses were almost touching each other.

"Nothing," she said and smiled at the wonder on his face.

For a long time, they just lay there, gazing into the eyes of the other.

"You're incredibly beautiful," Charles whispered. Uncharacteristically for him, he managed to say it without stuttering and while keeping his blue eyes locked on her dark ones. The sincerity and emotion in that statement rocked Jack to her core, and she could feel the tears starting to run down her cheeks.

"I-I'm sorry, ma'am," Charles said, as flustered and nervous as ever. Luckily, Jack happened to find that kinda cute. "I'm really sorry."

"Shut up," Jack said and kissed aggressively him to stop him from talking.

The tears were still streaming down her face, and black rivers of diluted makeup painted her cheeks. She couldn't remember ever being told, that she was beautiful, and she had always thought that girls who would go crazy over someone saying something as silly as 'you're beautiful' were utterly pathetic, and now, here she was, crying her eyes out, because Magnus had said it.

She felt incredibly stupid and wondered what would happen if the young man holding her in his arms said the only thing worse than that…

"I… I think I love you," Magnus said, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye.

_Of course! He fucking said it!_

"You fucking bastard!" Jack yelled and dug her nails into his back, making him wince in pain. "You had to say it, didn't you?"

Her entire body was glowing as she lost control of her biotic powers and her eyes were like dark waterfalls. Her bed had been covered in dark makeup stains, giving the white sheets a black pattern, which looked almost like the tattoos on Jack's body. She cried against Magnus' shoulder for several minutes before getting control of herself.

"You s-son of a b-bitch," she sniffled and lightly punched his chest.

Jack couldn't remember ever feeling this weak and vulnerable in her adult life, and she was happy that Magnus just remained there, quietly taking both her abuse and her tears.

Being told, with that level of sincerity, that she was beautiful was one thing, but being told that she was loved was an emotional overload that Jack just couldn't handle rationally.

She wiped her eyes in the pillow cover. It was ruined already, so she didn't really care that her makeup was smeared all over the white fabric.

"Are you okay?" Magnus asked, shifting uncomfortably next to her. "Do you want me to leave?"

"No!" Jack quickly said, "No, I don't want you to fucking leave!"

Sighing deeply, Magnus pushed some of her hair out of her eyes. "What do you want me to do then?"

"Nothing!"

"Should I not have said it?" he asked, eyeing her carefully.

"That depends… Did you mean what you said?" Jack asked, knowing the answer already. Magnus' display of affection was, perhaps, the most sincere she had ever seen someone be.

As predicted, he nodded.

"Then I guess you did the right thing," Jack said, rubbing her red eyes. "It's just that… It's just hard for me… Hearing things like that… I've never… Nobody's ever spoken to me like that."

"It seems we're both trying new things tonight," Magnus sympathetically said, caressing the small of her back.

"We're all rookies on something," Jack agreed, smiling at her own philosophic remark.

Magnus smiled too. He was probably relieved, that the woman he was in bed with was no longer crying.

"I think… I think I love you too," Jack whispered in Magnus' ear, trying another new thing. She couldn't remember ever telling someone that she loved them, and she was absolutely certain that if she ever had, she hadn't meant it. This time, she did. Or at least, she thought it was love. The strange tingle in her stomach increased as she spoke the words, as if proving that that was what it really was. Love.

Magnus smiled and pulled her back on top of him. She could feel him harden against her as they began to kiss and his hands began to roam her naked figure. The sensation of Magnus' stiffening length against her thigh aroused her immediately, and she bit her lip when he positioned himself at her entrance, ready for another go.

- X - - X - - X- -

"Fuck me, you're a quick learner," Jack sighed as she reached her fourth climax of the evening.

With a satisfied groan, Magnus released, his shoulders shaking with pleasure.

"Wow!" he said, wrapping the sheets tighter around Jack and himself. "The second time was even better."

"It's getting late," Jack said, nodding in direction of her alarm clock.

Magnus sat up in bed and stretched. "You're right. I better go."

"The hell you are," Jack said, pushing him back down. "We're taking a bath!"

Leaving Magnus naked and a little confused, Jack swung her legs over the side of the bed and landed her feet on the cold, metal floor. She winced, the temperature under the sheets, with Ensign Magnus, had been very pleasant, but now that she was no longer under the sheets and no longer subjected to the friction of their bodies, she shivered.

The tapping of her bare feet on the floor echoed in the room, as she walked into the bathroom and drew a hot bath. As the tub filled and steam fogged up the mirror, she walked back into the bedroom and found Magnus, still in her bed, gazing at her with a sultry look in his eyes.

"Come on, you lazy bastard!" Jack said, giggling as she pulled the bed sheets off him.

"Shit, it's cold!" Magnus whined, having lost the comfort of Jack's warm covers.

Jack laughed as he put his feet on the floor and practically ran to the bathroom. "Get in!" she ordered, pointing to the bathtub.

"Aye, ma'am," Charles said, obviously eager to get in the warm water.

"Ouch, are you trying to boil me?" he accused, slowly lowering his body into the steaming tub.

Jack rolled her eyes. "There aint no pleasing you, is there?"

"You should get in here," Charles countered, "it's inhumanely hot."

"Well, I wasn't planning on watching you bathe alone," Jack said and, to Magnus' great surprise, lowered herself down on top of him.

"I didn't mean it like that," Magnus said, "you didn't have to get in with me."

"I know, but isn't it nice?" Jack sighed and laid her head on his shoulder.

"Yes," he admitted and put his arms around her, "it just got a little hotter in here though."

"That has got to be one of the cheesiest things anybody has ever said to a woman!" Jack snickered, but appreciated the compliment all the same.

Her body completely submerged in the hot water, Jack allowed herself to relax and leaned back, so her head was resting on Magnus' chest, which kept her mouth and nose above the waterline. She enjoyed the feeling of his skin on hers, and she felt so safe and secure while lying there, on top of him, with his arms around her, just listening to and feeling him breathe.

She closed her eyes and her relaxation deepened even further.

Magnus started humming a melody, which made his chest vibrate under her head.

"Is that bohemian rhapsody?" Jack asked, thinking that she recognized the tune. "Do you know Queen?"

"Do _you _know Queen?" he countered in a surprised tone of voice.

She did.

Once, aboard the Normandy, Joker and Kelly Chambers had decided to make a music quiz. Miranda Lawson had won, of course, but Jack had surprised everyone by snatching second place in front of Shepard himself. Even more surprising, Doctor Solus had become fourth. Impressive really, since the questions were almost exclusively about human music. Legion and EDI had not been allowed to participate, since Jacob Taylor and Engineer Donnely pointed out, that direct access to the geth consensus and the extranet was an unfair advantage. Grunt was severely disappointed with the friendly manner of the competition, and he quickly withdrew from the quiz, fuming with rage. Tali and Garrus had both been good sports and tried to participate as much as they could, but they weren't very successful. Thane and Samara had not wanted to participate, and took some time to tend to their religious duties instead.

After the music quiz, Kelly had started to recommend different movies, books and music to Jack, and she had seen, read and listened to all of it.

Queen had been one of Chambers' own favorites, and it had become one of Jack's too, which was why she immediately recognized Magnus' humming.

"So how do you know Queen?" Jack asked Magnus, having explained everything about the quiz and Kelly Chambers to him, "they're not exactly contemporary."

"When my great grandfather died, I inherited his collection of music. He was a huge fan of Queen, which was evident in his collection. At first, I wasn't sure if it was my sort of thing, but now, I love it," Magnus told.

"I know so little about you," Jack said, which felt a bit odd, since she was lying on top of him in her bathtub. But she just realized that in reality, they didn't know each other very well. None of them ever knew that they both liked Queen.

"And I know almost nothing about you," Magnus agreed, his hands resting on her stomach. "Are we crazy for doing this?"

"Well," Jack said, deliberately rubbing against him, "I have papers stating that I'm clinically insane, but you're just a horny teen."

The student laughed. "So we're both mentally unstable?"

"The perfect match!"

"Indeed," Magnus said, kissing the back of her neck.

Once again, Jack leaned back against his chest, and just silently enjoyed the way it was moving up and down as he breathed in and out.

"I better get going," he whispered softly.

"Mmhhh," Jack groaned, wanting to just stay like this forever, even though the water had gone cold and her fingers had become wrinkled.

Reluctantly, she rose out of the water and pulled two towels from a closet. "Here," she said, handing one of them to Magnus, who had also stepped out of the tub.

Quickly, he dried himself and gathered his clothes, which lay spread all over Jack's private room and office. As he got dressed, Jack retrieved her silk night robe and put it on, thoroughly enjoying the silky sensation on her damp skin.

"Well," Magnus said, standing idly at the still locked office door. "Sleep tight, ma'am?"

"You're still calling me that, after all of this," Jack snickered, gesturing towards her bedroom.

"It's habitual," he laughed.

"Don't get caught," Jack warned and unlocked the door. "It's after curfew."

"I won't," Charles said and snuck out the door and into the dark Ascension Hall."

Jack peeked out the door, wincing as she noticed the strip of light coming out of Sanders' office.

She held her breath as Magnus' tall, dark figure made it past the head directors' door, and breathed a sigh of relief when it appeared, that he had done it without being spotted.

"Hold it right there, Magnus!" Sanders voice boomed from her office.

_Shit!_

Not wanting to be spotted by her boss, Jack stepped back into her own office and shut the door.

Oh, how she hoped that Magnus was a good liar. She knew he wasn't!

- X - - X - - X- -

She had just finished brushing her teeth and was on her way to bed when the doorbell rang, and Jack punched her pillow, anxious of what was about to happen.

She threw herself down on her bed and pulled the covers over her head, childishly hiding from the real world, hoping that Sanders would think she was asleep and stop bothering her. She knew it was Sanders. 'Magnus must have caved in,' she though, as the doorbell kept on its insistent howling.

Or maybe, just maybe, it wasn't her. Maybe it was somebody else. But Jack quickly discarded that theory. She never spoke to anyone except for the head director and her students, so who would be visiting in the middle of the night if not her? Besides, only a very limited number of staff members and the biotic students had access to Ascension Hall. No, it was definitely Kahlee Sanders, who was now ringing her doorbell a third time.

Realizing that the lieutenant wasn't planning on just quitting and going to bed, Jack slowly got up and walked with heavy steps to her office door. She prepared for the worst, but had no idea how Sanders would react, or how much she knew. She feared, that if she knew everything, the older woman might physically attack her, forcing Jack to hurt or even kill her, which Jack knew she didn't want to do. If she was lucky, Jack would just lose her job. But even that seemed unbearable right now. She had come to love her work with the students, even if it didn't offer fighting against all odds and winning, which had been her everyday drug aboard the Normandy. Also, if she was fired, she would have to leave Magnus behind, and after tonight, she actually thought that being apart from him, not seeing him every single day, would be catastrophic for her sanity. She didn't want to be like before, angry and alone. She liked the new Jack much better.

She paused as she reached the door. Her head was buzzing with thoughts, and she kept imagining the head director standing on the other side of the door with a pistol aimed at her head.

With a deep sigh, she slid a finger across the door panel, and Sanders came into view. She wasn't wielding a weapon. At least not a visible one.

Jack didn't say anything. She just stared into empty space, somewhere over the other woman's left shoulder.

Lieutenant Sanders stepped into the office, not waiting for an invitation. With a quick motion, she closed the door and crossed her arms, glaring at Jack with her ice blue eyes, which were, Jack noticed, just a little lighter in color than Charles Magnus' eyes.

"Explain yourself!" she ordered, taking a threatening step closer. Jack clenched her fist, fully expecting it to glow with biotic power, but it didn't. It appeared that something within her wasn't going to allow her to hurt the lieutenant.

Somehow, it seemed like the easiest solution to just fight the older woman, but it looked like that wasn't going to happen, at least not with biotics, and Jack seriously doubted that she would survive a regular fist fight with the lieutenant. Talking to her, Jack thought, wasn't a much happier prospect, as it seemed like Magnus had told her everything.

Not wanting to reveal anything to Sanders, that she didn't already know, Jack decided to play it dumb, hoping that Magnus hadn't cracked completely.

"Explain what?" she said, sounding as confused as she could.

"Don't be like that, Jack," Sanders warned. "Why is Charles Magnus sneaking away from your office in the middle of the night?"

"I was… teaching him stuff," Jack said, mentally kicking herself. And she was calling Magnus a terrible liar.

"I bet you were, but sex ed isn't in the curriculum," Sanders spat.

"W-what?" Jack spluttered. "why do you think…"

"Please," Sanders said, rolling her eyes, "I've worked with teens for years now. I've even been one myself, believe it or not. I know what a teenage boy who just got laid looks like, Jack."

"What does that have to do with me?"

"I know what women who just got laid looks like too," Sanders said, smirking victoriously as Jack straightened the night robe.

"Fuck," Jack muttered, realizing that she was cornered. Sanders definitely knew all of it.

"I'm guessing this is why you came to me, begging for me to either expel Ensign Magnus or accept your resignation?"

Jack nodded. "I was… disturbed."

"Clearly, you broke one of my chairs," Sanders said, almost showing the hint of a smile before her face got serious again. "What should I do about this, Jack?"

"I don't know," Jack said honestly. "Nothing?"

"I can't do nothing," Sanders said, shaking her head. "I'm not even sure how I feel about this myself, but I know the board will want your head on a plate."

"Then don't tell them."

"Jack," Sanders sighed, "I have to. The safety and well-being of our students is our top priority, and having one of them being seduced by a teacher doesn't look good for anyone."

"But Kahlee," Jack sobbed, tears forming in her eyes, "I love him."

Silence. There was only silence. Kahlee's mouth had fallen open and Jack's head was bowed and the tears were silently running down her cheeks.

"Oh, Jack," Kahlee said, moving a little closer. "You really do, don't you?"

Jack nodded, still snuffling.

The head directors facial expression had become much, much softer. "Come here," she said and pulled Jack into a motherly embrace. "You poor thing."

"Please don't tell anyone, Kahlee," Jack said in a muffled voice. Her mouth was pressed against the other woman's shirt.

"I'll see what I can do," Kahlee whispered. "I thought you were just fooling around, or that you might have promised him better grades or something. I never knew you loved him."

Jack nodded, "I do, or at least I think I do."

"I will go through our rule books to see if you're actually breaking any rules, and I won't talk to the board without speaking with you first," Kahlee said. "But if it means something to you, I don't have a problem with it, as long as you love him and he loves you."

"It does mean something to me," Jack admitted. "you're almost like a big sister to me."

"Hah," Kahlee laughed with tears of happiness in her eyes. "I'm old enough to be your mother."

Looking at the pretty blonde with the near perfect complexion in front of her, Jack seriously doubted that.

"Get some sleep, Jack," Kahlee said an moved towards the door. "I've got something for you and the kids to do tomorrow."

"Yes, mother," Jack said sarcastically, but she could tell that the lieutenant reacted very strongly to the word. "Thank you, Kahlee!" she called, and just before the door closed, the head director turned and winked back at her.

Satisfied, in several different ways, Jack went to bed, wondering what the next day would bring.

* * *

_A/N_

Okay. So once again, I feel like I have to start my notes by apologizing. I'm not updating as often as I want to, and for that I'm sorry. This time was even worse since my computer broke Down and the chapter I had already written was deleted. So this is in fact my second try at this chapter.

This was also my first sex scene, and I don't really know what to think about it. I would really appreciate it, if you could drop me some reviews with your thoughts on that. Does it need to be longer/shorter, more/less descriptive? Those are the Things I would like to know.

_It was a challenge for me to write, because it's usually a part of life, which I am very private about. But it was also lots of fun, and I hope it turned out alright._

_As always, I am open for questions and I would love to hear any advice you have to give. I will always get back to those of you who take the time to write to me. Always._

_I hope that the next update will be quicker, and that you're not too angry with me :)_

Thanks for everything.

_- Simon_


	23. Back To Basics

Chapter Twenty-Three – Back to basics

Jack stepped into Orion Hall at breakfast time. She grabbed a few pieces of toast and made her way to the area where her students usually sat during meals. She hadn't slept many hours, but she still felt very relaxed and calm. Last night had been very good for her, she decided and promised herself not to go for so long periods without sex again. It couldn't be healthy.

"Jack!" someone called. She whirled around and saw Kahlee sitting alone at a nearby table.

"Oh, it's you," Jack said, pulling out a chair for herself. "Good morning, Kahlee."

"Good morning, Jack," Kahlee replied, eyeing her carefully.

"What?" Jack said, spraying bits of semi masticated toast over the table surface. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I'm trying to make up my mind," the head director said, still staring at Jack.

"About what I wonder?" Jack said dryly and shoveled another piece of toast into her mouth.

"You and… _him_," Kahlee whispered, nodding in direction of Magnus, who had just entered Orion Hall with Ensign Prangley and his engineer girlfriend. Sophia something, Jack thought her name was.

"What about us?" Jack said, becoming slightly irritated.

"I still don't know how to feel about this relationship. I'm not sure it's such a good idea."

"Well, I think it's a good idea," Jack hissed. "And I'm pretty sure Magnus thinks so too."

"Of course he thinks it's a good idea!" Kahlee replied heatedly. "You fucked him!"

A few people at the nearby tables lifted their heads and looked at the two women. "You fucked him," Kahlee whispered, realizing that she had raised her voice.

Jack gave an older professor her best death glare, which immediately made him return his focus to his breakfast, before returning her gaze to her boss. "Just tell everybody, why don't you?"

"Sorry," Kahlee muttered. "I didn't mean for that to be so loud."

"About Magnus and I," Jack continued, "why is it even your concern?"

"Jack," Kahlee sighed. "Magnus is old enough to make his own decisions, but as a student of the Ascension Project, he is my responsibility, no matter how old he is. You, as an employee within the project, are my responsibility as well. If I think that one or both of you are harming yourselves, it is my duty as head director to step in... To help you."

"And you think we're harming ourselves?"

"I don't know yet," Kahlee said and shrugged.

"What if we don't want your help?" Jack asked coldly.

"Sometimes, the people who are most in need of help don't realize it," Kahlee said, keeping eye contact with Jack.

"And sometimes," Jack replied, staring back at her boss, "some people want to help everybody, even if they didn't ask for help."

"I only want what's best for you. Both of you," Kahlee said softly.

"And what makes you qualified to judge what's best for us? It seems to me, that since Magnus and I are the ones that this is all about, we should be the ones to know what's best for ourselves."

"Jack, honey," Kahlee said softly, making Jack wince. She hated it when people called her things like honey or sweetheart. People always seemed to talk down to her after calling her those names. Like she was a fucking child. "You said you were in love with him," Kahlee continued, "often, when people say, that they're in love, they will do crazy things. In reality, they don't always know, what's best for themselves."

"I don't need to take this from you," Jack growled, losing her temper. "What do you know about love, anyways? You're just a miserable old lady, living a secluded life on fucking a space station. You don't love anybody! And what's even worse, nobody loves you! If you wanted to get laid, you would have to settle for that slimy fucker Wolff, but at least you're not that desperate yet, are you?"

Jack rose from the table, her chair flipping over as she did so. "I'll be in my office if you feel like talking more!" she spat and stomped out of Orion Hall.

- -X - - X - - X - -

Charles sat down at breakfast with Prangley and Sophia. Once again, the engineer had spent the night in Prangley's room, and this morning, Charles had a much better understanding of why Prangley was in such a good mood after those nights.

Prangley pulled out a chair for Sophia. "Here you go, babe."

"Thanks, honey," Sophia replied and kissed his cheek. "What did I do to deserve this?"

"Baby," Prangley said as he took his own seat, "if you keep doing what you did last night, I'll make sure you'll never have to pull out your own chairs again. I may even by you flowers from time to time."

Sophia giggled girlishly and blushed as she noticed Charles listening.

Usually, he made a big deal out of rolling his eyes, clamping his hands over his ears or even making barfing sounds, when Prangley and Sophia talked like this after a night of romance. This morning was different however. For the first time ever, he could recognize the passion and the devotion between them. He felt like that himself. Luckily, he hadn't spotted Jack, because he didn't think that he would be able to keep his hands of her. If he started treating his instructor like Prangley treated Sophia in the middle of Orion Hall, their plans of secrecy would be out the window. It was probably for the best that Jack hadn't shown up at their table.

Kurt, Vera and the twins joined them moments later, which was nice, because Sophia had started spoon feeding her boyfriend his cereal, and even though Charles now understood their relationship better, it was getting a little awkward when it was just the three of them.

"Morning all!" Kurt said, taking a seat next to Charles. He pretended to put two fingers down his throat when he saw Prangley kissing Sophia with one elbow in his bowl of cereal.

"I need to get myself a boyfriend," Seanne said as she and Reiley sat down at the round table. "I'm starting to actually like it when they do that." She pointed to Prangley and Sophia. "I think I envy them."

"Me too," her brother agreed, "but I'm more interested in the thing that led to them behave like this."

"Aren't we all," Kurt said, taking a tray from Vera so she could sit down as well.

"Ahem," Lieutenant Sanders cleared her throat loudly as she stepped up to their table. Prangley, who now had Sophia sitting in his lap and his hands sliding up and down her thighs, didn't react at all. He kept his eyes closed and his lips on Sophia's.

"Ahem!" Sanders repeated, much louder this time. Still no reaction. "Rodriguez, would you please?" the head director resignedly said, pointing to the couple who were still oblivious to her presence.

"With pleasure," Vera said, grabbed Prangley's collar and Sophia's ponytail and pulled them apart. "Snap out of it!"

"What?" Prangley said angrily, while Sophia blushed.

Vera simply pointed at Sanders, who had crossed her arms and was tapping her foot impatiently.

"Good morning, ma'am," Prangley said in a much more friendly tone.

"Don't worry, Ensign Prangley," Sanders said coldly, "I'll let you get back to your, hmmm, breakfast, in a minute."

"Aye, ma'am," Prangley said calmly, and as often before, Charles was impressed with how his classmate never seemed to get embarrassed by anything. Sophia, who was still sitting in his lap, on the other hand, had become very red faced, and the engineer did her best to keep her eyes on the floor.

"I'm here to tell you, that I expect all of you to be in your classroom in thirty minutes. We're doing something special today."

"What is it?" Vera asked.

"A surprise, Rodriguez," Sanders smilingly said.

"Fuck! I hate surprises!"

"Language, Rodriguez! I'm writing you down for a donation to our swear jar."

"Sorry, ma'am," Rodriguez said in a small voice.

Charles knew how she felt. Since his first days at the academy, he had caught himself swearing much more often than usually. He had noticed that his classmates were also cursing much more often than they had to begin with. It was very obvious with Vera, who normally never swore, but recently, she had been dropping f-bombs all over the place.

"I'll have to talk to Jack about this," Sanders said to herself. Apparently, she shared Charles' theory, that Jack's potty mouth had infected the entire advanced class.

The head director pointed at Charles. "Magnus, I need to talk to you right away. Please follow me to my office. The rest of you, I'll see you in thirty minutes."

Charles slowly rose from the table, wondering what she wanted to talk to him about. Then he remembered last night. Sanders had asked him what he was doing in Ascension Hall, and he had just legged it. No doubt she wanted an explanation for that behavior.

He wondered why he hadn't seen Jack all morning, and then it hit him. Maybe Sanders had realized what was going on, and Jack had been fired. Internally, he was panicking. If Jack was really gone, he didn't know what to do with himself. He wanted to go after her. But how would he find her? The galaxy was huge, and his space flight experience was limited to being transported from Earth to Grissom Academy.

He followed Sanders into her office and took the offered seat in one of her guest chairs while she remained standing on the other side of the desk.

"I know about you and Jack," the head director said, getting straight to the point immediately.

Charles' heart sank. His fear had been realized. Jack was fired and probably already long gone. He found that he couldn't speak, and hoped that the lieutenant would explain more.

"I talked to her yesterday," Sanders continued. "I know what happened between the two of you last night."

Charles swallowed. If she knew, they had had sex, there was no way that Sanders would allow Jack to stay. He was sure of that.

"Did she promise you anything? Better grades or other privileges? Is that why you did it?"

"N-no, ma'am," Charles stuttered.

"Did you feel like she forced you into something you didn't want to do?"

"No. I came to her," Charles said.

"Why?"

"I wanted to… I WANT to be with her," Charles said. "Do you know where she went?"

"Where she went?"

"Yes," Charles said impatiently, "did she go to the Citadel, Earth, Elysium? Where is she? I have to find her!"

"You would travel the galaxy to find her?" Sanders asked.

"I'd search every planet of every star in every system if I had to."

"Hmmmm," sanders hummed thoughtfully.

"What? You know where she is? Please tell me, ma'am. I have to find her!"

"Calm down, Magnus," Sanders said. "As far as I know, Jack is still in her office."

- -X - - X - - X - -

Jack was pacing back and forth in her office. Screaming and kicking at various unfortunate objects. Who did Kahlee think she was, interfering in her relationship? It was none of her business!

She roared and kicked one of her chairs across the room. If only Shepard was here, she thought. He always knew what to do. He would have been able to help her with Magnus and Sanders. But, as she was very well aware, Shepard wasn't around, and she would have to handle her problems on her own.

She had yelled at Kahlee. Told her some pretty awful things. For that, she felt bad, but more than that, she feared that Kahlee would decide to talk to the board because of it. If Lieutenant Sanders was no longer protecting Jack, but actually working to have her sacked, she would be off the station in the blink of an eye. She didn't have many friends there, and Sanders was probably the only reason she had even landed the job in the first place, not to mention kept it for so long. But now, that could all be over. Just because Jack had let her temper run off with her and insulted her boss and only friend in the academy. She felt so stupid, and she screamed again.

Just as Jack had begun flinging pencils, coffee mugs and any other loose items she could find at the wall, the doorbell rang. She angrily slammed her fist into the panel which opened the door. "What!?" she roared, but then saw that it was Magnus, looking genuinely frightened. He'd even put his hands in front of his face and closed his eyes. Jack couldn't blame him. She hadn't exactly given him a warm welcome, and she knew how scary she could be.

"Oh, it's you," she said, her biotic aura fading.

He nodded.

Jack looked at him and he looked back at her.

"Sanders knows," said Jack, "about us."

"She just told me," Magnus said. He pointed at the pile of things in the corner of Jack's office, many of them broken upon impact with the wall. "Are you packing? Sanders said you didn't have to leave."

"I'm not leaving," Jack said, picked up her chair from the floor and took a seat. "Not unless I have to."

"Then what's with all the destruction?"

"Sanders and I talked. She wants to interfere… With us… I was kind of a bitch to her after that."

"She asked me to bring you to the classroom," said Magnus, gesturing towards the still open door.

"Alright," Jack muttered, unwillingly following him out into the hallway.

"Everything's going to be alright," Magnus whispered as they walked towards the classroom. It was weird, Jack thought, that in many ways, Ensign Magnus was so much more mature than her. While she was throwing random objects around her office, he had kept his cool, and now he was ensuring her. He was much more shy and inexperienced in almost everything, but also much more rational and cool-headed than Jack.

She fought back the urge to hold his hand as they arrived at the door to the advanced class classroom. Jack stepped in first with Magnus right on her heels. Prangley, Vera, Kurt and the Bellarmines were all at their desks and Kahlee was standing in the corner, leaning against a bookshelf.

It was weird to enter a room with Magnus. Even more since everybody in the room now knew about them. She sincerely hoped that Magnus hadn't bragged to his classmates about last night. Not that she cared if they knew about the escalation of their relationship, but she didn't think she had the patience to deal with Nielsen and Prangley making jokes today.

Magnus didn't seem like the type of guy who would boast about that sort of thing, and since there were no wolf whistles or anything of that sort when they entered the classroom, she was almost certain that he hadn't told anyone.

Jack took a seat on the edge of her own desk and Magnus stepped towards an empty chair between Rodriguez and Prangley. His foot bumped against something, which then rolled across the classroom floor, tinkling merrily all the way. It was one of the miniature liquor bottles from their 'lesson' the previous day. Magnus froze and so did all of his classmates. Jack closed her eyes and shook her head in despair. She could imagine how angry Kahlee would get if she learned the truth about her little drinking game. The lieutenant was hardly her biggest fan at that moment because of the thing with Magnus and the yelling, and Jack had a strong feeling, that if Kahlee learned about using alcohol as a form of positive reinforcement in her classroom, the head director would snap completely.

Kahlee arched her eyebrow and stepped forward to pick up the empty bottle.

"Noverian rum," she read from the label.

The classroom was silent as the grave. Jack still held her eyes closed, and Magnus was standing frozen in the middle of it all. The other students looked at the head director with bated breath.

"That's mine!" Rodriguez suddenly said.

Jack's eyes popped open and she stared at the brown-haired girl in surprise.

Kahlee skeptically gazed at the pretty, rule-abiding Vera Rodriguez. "Really?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Why is it here, in the classroom?"

"I-I don't know, ma'am. It must have fallen from my pocket."

Kahlee looked at her; disbelief was visible in her blue eyes. "Are you drinking on school nights, Rodriguez?"

"Of course not, ma'am. The rum is from a special occasion. From last weekend."

"Aha," Kahlee said, twirling the miniature bottle between her fingers. She looked at Jack, who was doing her best to keep a straight face. She had never thought that she would hear Rodriguez lying to the head director's face like that.

Looking not at all convinced, Kahlee put the empty bottle in her pocket and asked Magnus, who had been standing all this time, to take a seat. He quickly did so.

"We're doing something special today," Sanders addressed the entire room in her normal tone of voice. "You are going to be spending some time with some newly arrived biotic students."

"Boring," Prangley muttered, but was silenced by Kahlee's glare.

Rodriguez, Nielsen and both Bellarmines were all smiling. Magnus, like Jack, was looking at his classmates trying to gauge their reactions to today's assignment.

"They just arrived last week and are all between ten and twelve years old," Kahlee explained. "You're going to be their teachers today."

"What should we teach them?" Kurt asked.

"Something very simple," Kahlee said, "remember, they just got here. They are probably really nervous, they have had no previous training, and their powers are still at an early stage of development."

The students nodded. They all remembered their first weeks at the academy.

Kahlee continued:

"We're doing this because we want a better connection between the basics class and the advanced class. As you know, you are the first ever advanced class in the history of the Ascension Project, but since you graduated basics, you haven't had much to do with the rest of the department. We would like to change that. We are hoping that this will make the transition from basics to advanced smoother for generations to come. If the kids see who you are and what you can do, they are probably more likely to choose to stay here for advanced class when they are done with basics. That is, if you behave…" She glared at Prangley as she said the last words.

"You're representing the advanced class of the Ascension Project, so you better treat those kids nicely, or you'll never be allowed to visit Elysium or go to prom again. Understood?" the head director finished in her most commanding tone.

From her position at her desk, Jack could see her students' faces getting serious. They were usually pretty dedicated to their schoolwork, but a direct threat to their favorite recreational events seemed to have doubled their desire to impress the head director.

"Yes, ma'am," they chorused.

"Alright, let's go then," Kahlee said and led the students out of the classroom. Jack brought up the rear.

As they walked the short distance down Ascension Hall to one of the classrooms used by basic level classes, Jack noticed how Kahlee kept turning her head. No doubt she was keeping an eye on Magnus and herself. The lieutenant didn't have to worry though, because Charles was walking in front with Kurt, while Jack was still in the back.

Sanders opened a classroom door and the older students filed in followed by their instructor.

One of the basic class instructors, Mr. Yamauchi, smiled and took a seat amongst his students. Jack only knew his name, because his office was right next to hers, and his name was written on the door. He seemed nice enough. Well, at least he never bothered her. He always stayed out of her way, maybe because he was scared of her. She knew many staff members were.

"Good morning, kids," Kahlee said, her voice much, much softer than when she addressed the older students.

"Good morning, Lieutenant Sanders," the kids replied in perfect harmony. Jack was impressed with the discipline, but then remembered, that her own students had been like that to begin with too. She was probably to blame for their much more relaxed etiquette. She hadn't done much to enforce that kind of discipline in her classroom, in fact she had done quite the opposite by banning salutes and asking them to simply call her by her name.

The newly-arrived basics students looked equally excited and frightened, and Jack was glad that she wasn't responsible for kids this young. She didn't feel particularly qualified to teach with the 18 to 19-year-olds she was already working with, but if her students had been as young as these kids, whom she estimated to be between ten and twelve, she would have been completely fucked. With that in mind, she was glad that her students were the teachers today.

There were just four students in Yamauchi's class, two boys and two girls. They were wearing exactly the same burgundy red uniforms as Jack's own students, but the military design looked completely out of place on their tiny bodies.

"These are the students of the Ascension Project's advanced class," Kahlee said to the four kids and pointed at the group of older students. "And this is miss Nought, their instructor," she said, pointing at Jack, who winced at being called anything other than Jack.

Kahlee smiled at her, noticing how she suffered. To be fair, it wasn't much of a revenge for what Jack had said to her that morning. The head director continued: "When you turn eighteen, you will be given the choice to join the advanced class. Miss Nought and her students are here today to tell you about it, and then they will be teaching you some fun things you can do with biotics."

Sanders stepped over to Jack with a revengeful smirk on her face and whispered in her ear:

"Tell them about your classes, Jack."

Jack had said some pretty unpleasant things to Kahlee that morning, and apparently this was the lieutenant's way of getting back at her, actually making her speak to the children.

'Just kill me now,' Jack thought and stepped forward.

- -X - - X - - X - -

Charles was laughing on the inside when he saw the silent discussion going on between his girlfriend and her boss. Apparently, the argument the two of them had had in the morning wasn't completely over. Otherwise, Sanders would never have forced Jack to speak to children. He was a bit worried too, though. If the animosity between the two women was worse than he feared, who knew if Sanders suddenly decided, that she wasn't going to keep quiet about their relationship, just to get back at Jack for being a bit bitchy.

To both Charles' and Sanders' surprise, Jack handled her speech to the children quite well. After a shaky start, she explained to them, how they worked and how they would be taught combat biotics that wasn't a part of the basics class curriculum. She gingerly avoided mentioning drinking in the classroom and Charles was especially impressed that she only cursed five times in her ten minute speech, which included a dramatic retelling of their recent victory against the combat engineers in the chase exercise.

After that, Charles and his classmates were divided into two groups of three, which were then given responsibility of two of the new students.

A shy, little boy named Yaroslav and a much more talkative girl named Sarah were assigned to Charles, Kurt and Vera for the rest of the day. They were given free rein by Sanders to take them where they wanted and teach them whatever they deemed appropriate. Kurt suggested showing them the classroom first, and two minutes later, Yaroslav and Sarah stood in the advanced classroom with the three older students.

"Wow, you are really pretty!" Sarah said to Vera, who blushed. Apparently, Sarah was one of those kids who just said out loud whatever she was thinking.

"Thank you, Sarah," Vera said, smiling brightly.

"Yes yes, lovely," Kurt dryly said and started to explain the different details in the classroom to the two younger students. Sarah had a lot of questions about almost everything, while Yaroslav just listened carefully.

Charles was glad that he had been grouped with Kurt and Vera. They were both really good at handling the children, and they managed to make everything, even the most boring subjects, much more interesting for Yaroslav and Sarah.

"I don't want to be a soldier," Sarah suddenly said with a frown on her face. "But advanced class sounds really cool."

Vera kneeled down in front of her, bringing herself to Sarah's eye level. She gently put her hand on the little girl's shoulder. "That's the neat thing about advanced class. You'll learn to fight, but nobody's forcing you to become a soldier afterwards."

She pointed to Kurt and Charles. "Take these two for example, they haven't decided what they want to do after school yet, but they still get a lot of valuable knowledge here."

It suddenly hit Charles that he hadn't thought about his future for quite some time. He had been too caught up in everything that was going on with Jack. He still didn't know what he wanted to do with his life. He kept pushing that decision in front of him. In his head, it didn't make sense to make any plans without knowing if his biotic powers would ever fully develop. For now, he just wanted to be with his girlfriend… Wow, that was a weird thought… Having a girlfriend.

Charles and Kurt both nodded at Sarah.

"You don't have to become a soldier, if you take advanced class, but you should know, that you will be asked to practice shooting, combat biotics and that you'll be spending a lot of time in the gym," Charles added.

Sarah smiled broadly and announced that she wanted to stay in school for the advanced class as well.

"You don't have to decide right now, Sarah," Vera said, trying to calm the energetic ten-year-old down.

Not having any more to tell about in the classroom, Charles, Vera and Kurt decided to take the kids on a tour of the station.

They started in the physics and chemistry departments and many of the young scientists working there were extremely hospitable. Several of them offered to let them witness some very cool experiments, which Charles, Vera and Kurt found just as awesome as Yaroslav and Sarah did.

Next, they visited the xenobiology department. Here, they witnessed the dissection of what looked like a 150 pound cockroach. Vera had to step away when the biologists finally managed to get the creature's shell open and yellowish goo sprayed all over the lab. Charles and Kurt kept laughing as she continued to make gagging noises all the way down the corridors to their next destination.

They made a very short stop at the inconceivably boring mathematics department before heading off to the much more exciting music department. Grissom Academy's Symphony Orchestra was in the middle of a practice session and the Ascension Project students were allowed to listen in. As the orchestra played Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture, Charles for the first time really appreciated what a special place Grissom Academy was. Everybody here was a bloody child prodigy of some kind. He hadn't thought about earlier, but he was sharing this space station with the most talented young people humanity had to offer. All of them were brilliant in their respective fields of expertise.

He felt completely out of place. He was there because some doctors were impressed with the theoretical potential of his biotic power, but none of all these other young scientists, musicians or mathematicians were there because someone thought they may have the potential to be good. They were there, because they were already excellent.

The Symphony Orchestra was, not surprisingly, an extremely talented bunch, and Charles reminded himself to go to one of their concerts some time.

Before the orchestra started playing again, Sarah and Yaroslav were invited to play the cymbals and the triangle for the next piece. Kurt thanked the conductor, who didn't look to be much older than the two biotic children, and came to stand beside Charles.

"Look at that", Kurt said, as the orchestra started playing again. He pointed at the cymbalist, whose instrument had been taking over by Yaroslav. The young musician was obviously flirting with Vera in between his attempts at timing Yaroslav's use of the round bronze plates.

"He's brave," Charles commented. The cymbalist was at least 3 years younger than Vera, but that didn't seem to worry him at all. "He's a bit too young for her, isn't he?"

The moment the words left his lips, Charles realized his hypocrisy. He and Kurt looked at each other for a moment before both of them doubled over with laughter. "You're one to talk, mate," Kurt chuckled.

"Yeah," Charles said with a grin, "I probably shouldn't say anything, should I?"

Kurt shook his head. "Nope. Besides, that poor bastard doesn't even know, that he's completely chanceless."

"I thought girls loved musicians," Charles said.

"Many do, but Vera's heart only opens if you're an alliance marine."

"She's really that particular in her choice of men?"

"Please," Kurt laughed, "until recently, she couldn't see herself marrying anyone else than Commander Shepard. Now, she'll settle for anyone with N7 status."

"Hah," Charles snorted. "Isn't that still only a few hundred people?"

"Even fewer if you only count the blokes," Kurt affirmed.

"The girl knows what she wants," Charles laughed.

Kurt nodded and pointed to the cymbalist, who was still shamelessly trying to impress Vera. "Which is why this scrawny chap is definitely wasting his time."

"Hang on," Charles snickered, "if I'm not allowed to say he's too young, why can you call him scrawny? You're not too big yourself." He ruffled the blond hair of his shorter friend to prove his point.

"Because my point is valid, yours wasn't," Kurt said, swatting Charles' hand away.

"How so?"

Kurt sighed, as if he was explaining something to a child for the thousandth time. "You said that he was too young for her. But Vera doesn't care about age. Remember how she wanted to marry Commander Shepard, who is almost twice as old as her? I said he was scrawny, which I know could very well describe myself, but being not-scrawny is, unlike age, actually one of Vera's criteria, and so, calling him scrawny is a valid argument, whether it includes myself or not."

"I see your point," Charles said. "Do you think she'll ever find a husband then? Her demands are kinda steep."

"I don't know," Kurt said. "She's pretty, but I think she might have to relax her standards just a bit."

Charles nodded. "What about you? You guys are always together."

Kurt snorted. "Didn't you listen to me before? She likes tall blokes with lots of muscles, which I think we can both agree doesn't fit my description very well. I still don't know if I want to join the military after school, and Vera wants a marine, preferably an N7. In fact I think… Didn't we talk about this before? We are like brother and sister, and we just don't have those feelings towards each other. Not to mention that one of her best friends back on Terra Nova, Maria, is also my girlfriend."

"I know all of this," Charles sincerely said, "It just… The two of you are so good together."

"As friends," Kurt said with a smile, just as Yaroslav crashed the cymbals together for the final time, putting an end to Beethoven's fifth symphony.

Vera managed to get away from the cymbalist, who, to his credit, was taking her rejection of his romantic advances in stride. She brought Sarah and Yaroslav, who were both very excited about their contributions to the orchestra's performance, with her, and the biotics left the concert hall after thanking the young conductor once more.

"Where should we go now?" Kurt asked.

"What about engineering?" Vera suggested.

"Do we have to?" Kurt sighed, and Charles had to agree, that he didn't particularly want to visit that section of the station either. A few minutes later however, all five of them stood in front of the entrance to the combat engineering department.

- -X - - X - - X - -

Jack, Kahlee and Mr. Yamauchi had spent the time since the students left the classroom talking about how to make the transition from basics to advanced class as smooth as possible for future generations. Well, it was most Kahlee and Yamauchi talking. Jack had only really said anything if she was asked a direct question by either the head director or her fellow instructor.

"What do you think, Jack? Should we let your students spend some time with my students once a month?" Yamauchi asked her.

"Huh?" Jack said absentmindedly. "Oh, well, let's wait and see what all of them think after today."

The basics class instructor nodded in agreement. "That's a good idea."

Kahlee typed something on her datapad. "Agreed. I'll ask the kids tonight, what they thought of this."

"Excellent," Yamauchi said and rose from the table. "Please excuse me, I have a lunch date with my sister on Elysium."

"Enjoy," Kahlee warmly said as he left the classroom.

For a moment, Jack and Kahlee sat at the table in silence. Jack was staring at the tabletop, while Kahlee was reading, or pretending to read, her datapad.

Jack really wanted to break the silence and say something to the older woman. Apologize to her, maybe. Kahlee remained quiet, stoically keeping her attention on the datapad. It was almost like she was just waiting for Jack to speak up.

Jack opened her mouth and then closed it again. She then opened her mouth again, only to close it once more. Kahlee looked up from the datapad with one eyebrow raised.

Jack took a deep breath and then cautiously opened her mouth again. "A-about what happened this morning…"

"Yes?" Kahlee said expectantly. She really had just been awaiting Jack's apology.

"I might have overstepped the line," Jack muttered.

"You might have!?" Kahlee said angrily. "You called me a miserable old lady and said that nobody loved me!"

"Yeah yeah," Jack quietly admitted. "I'm sorry."

"Not only was it extremely unprofessional behavior towards your superior, but it was also very hurtful. I thought we were friends, Jack?" The head director said the last in a broken voice. Jack could hear that the older woman had been genuinely hurt by her words.

"What do you want me to say, Kahlee?" Jack asked. She felt like crap. Kahlee had been a good friend to her. Her only friend on the entire space station actually. The head director could have gone to the board right away or fired her herself, but she hadn't done any of that. She didn't deserve Jack's anger, but she certainly deserved her apology.

"I'm sorry," Jack said again, putting as much emotion into her words as possible. Those words, said in that particular tone sounded completely wrong as they left Jack's lips.

Kahlee continued to stare at her, her face a mask of both anger and hurt. Thankfully, her features slowly softened.

"Alright," she said and visibly relaxed. "I accept your apology."

"So we're good?" Jack cautiously asked.

"Yes, Jack, we're good. But I need you to understand, that you can't yell at me like that in the middle of Orion Hall. I'm your friend, but I'm also your boss, and I can't have you undermining my authority in front of the entire station like you did."

"I understand," Jack said, hanging her head in shame.

"Good," the head director said and rose from the table. "You should try to find your students. Make sure they don't mess up the little ones."

"Wait, Kahlee," Jack said, just as the older woman was leaving the room. "What about Magnus? What are you going to do with… us?"

The head director breathed a deep sigh and paused with one hand on the door panel.

"I stand by what I said this morning," she said firmly. "I'm not convinced that what you're doing is good for either of you, and for your own sakes, I think you should consider stopping while you can."

"That's the thing," Jack said, trying to remain calm this time, "I don't think I can stop."

"Hmm…" Kahlee hummed thoughtfully. "Ensign Magnus gave me the same impression."

"So, what are you going to do, Kahlee? If neither one of us can stop?"

Kahlee closed her eyes for a moment and leaned her head against the wall. Finally, she spoke again: "I'm going to go through the rule books today. If there aren't any rules prohibiting your… relationship, then I won't take any further action right now. But if you are breaking the rules or if I start feeling like you are harming yourselves by doing what you're doing, I'm afraid I'll have to step in."

Jack took a few deep breaths. It was against her nature not to start yelling at the older woman again. Why the hell couldn't she just tell Kahlee to mind her own fucking business?

"Will you at least come and talk to me, before you do anything… drastic?" she ended up asking.

"Of course, Jack," Kahlee said and left the classroom, presumably to study the rules of the Jon Grissom Academy.

The moment the door closed behind the head director, Jack slammed her forehead into the tabletop. Dealing with the head director was taking its toll on her. She wondered if it was really worth it. Maybe she should just give in to Kahlee's wishes and break it off with Magnus, and then everything would go back to normal.

Except it wouldn't. Things would never go back to normal, of that she was certain. After everything that had happened between Magnus and her in the last couple of days, even if the rest of the students and Kahlee had found it about them, she just couldn't bring herself to break it off. Every time she thought about him and the way his skin had felt against hers, and the way he held her in the bath tub, the warm tingle returned to her stomach. That wonderful tingle, the feeling of which she could never explain to another, sent shivers down her spine and lit a fire in her loins. No, she wouldn't give up Magnus, not under any circumstances.

If only Kahlee would realize how much she needed him. But the head director was so fixated on saving them from themselves, and Jack feared, that she would never fully condone their relationship, even if she eventually decided not to force them apart.

Jack realized that speculating about all this wasn't doing her any good. It seemed that a lot would come down to what was actually written in the academy regulations, so there was really nothing else for her to do, than to wait for Kahlee to read them through.

She left the table and stepped out into Ascension Hall, just in time to see the door to the head director's office shut behind the blonde in her Alliance uniform.

Jack sighed, hoping more than anything, that Kahlee wouldn't find the fraternization rules she was looking for. She started walking, trying to think of something else, and began her search for the children and their guides, who could be literally anywhere on the station.

- -X - - X - - X - -

Charles, Vera and Kurt stood at the entrance to the engineering department, arguing whether to enter or not.

"Come on," Vera said and opened the door.

"I'm telling you, this is a bad idea," Kurt sighed.

Vera ignored him completely and stepped through the door. "Did you ever think about how easy it is for us to enter all the other departments, but none of the other students can enter Ascension Hall unless they steal one of our ID cards?"

"No," Kurt said and followed her into the engineering department. "But I wouldn't mind if engineering was as secretive as Ascension. Then you couldn't drag us in here."

"What is so bad about this place?" Sarah asked.

"Nothing," Vera quickly said, before Kurt could start his rant about the abominable combat engineers. "Nielsen is just scared."

"I'm not scared!" Kurt complained. "I'm just trying to avoid unnecessary confrontation."

"Chicken!" Vera laughed as they continued down the hallway.

Suddenly, the person all of them hated the most stepped out from a doorway on the side of the hallway. He looked up and noticed the five students in Ascension uniforms and his face lit up in an evil smirk.

"Well well well," he said dramatically, "if it isn't Rodriguez, Nielsen and Magnus The Cheater?"

"Sod off, Snow!" Kurt angrily said.

"I don't think so, Blondie," Thomas Snow replied calmly. "You're in my department now."

The green-clad engineer kneeled down until he was eye to eye with the two younger biotics.

"Aww! Rodriguez and Nielsen, why didn't you tell me you had kids?" he said and ruffled both Sarah's and Yaroslav's hair.

Kurt and Vera didn't reply, so Snow stood back up while Sarah and Yaroslav shuffled to cover behind Charles.

"Couldn't you at least behave in front of the kids, Snow?" Vera pleaded.

"I don't give a shit about you freaks or your goddamned kids!" Snow furiously spat.

Sarah started crying loudly behind Charles, which then led to Yaroslav sobbing as well. The newly-arrived Ascension Project students were obviously scared, and their glee from the concert hall had disappeared completely.

"I told you we shouldn't have come here," Kurt whispered to Vera, who was trying to comfort the younger biotics.

"Hah, crybabies," Snow scornfully laughed. "Just like the older ones!"

Hearing the sound of children crying, Prangley's girlfriend Sophia stepped out of the same doorway Snow had appeared from.

"Snow!" she shouted. "Go to lunch! Now! Or I'll kick your ass myself!"

"Traitorous bitch," Thomas Snow muttered, but stepped past the biotic students in direction of Orion Hall.

"If you're lucky, I won't tell Jason that you called me that!" Sophia yelled after him.

Charles could very well imagine what Prangley would do to Thomas Snow if he heard, that the engineer had called his girlfriend a bitch. He doubted that the powerful biotic would let his nemesis keep his genitals intact.

"Hey there," Sophia softly said and took the hands of the crying biotic children in hers. "I want you to meet my attack drone. His name is Henry."

Yaroslav and Sarah were both still sobbing, but they willingly followed Sophia into her workshop and greeted Henry, who, besides electrically shocking Sophia's enemies, was able to engage in light conversation with her friends.

"Thank you," Charles whispered to Sophia.

"You're welcome," she replied with a smile. "Just because Snow is such a dick, doesn't mean that our two departments have to be enemies."

"I hope not, some of you are alright," Charles laughed.

"Hey Magnus," Sophia said, changing the subject. "Remember when Jason and I tried to set up a date between you and my friend Lichelle?" She pointed through a glass wall at the beautiful dark skinned girl, who was welding something that looked incredibly expensive.

Charles nodded. "I had homework to do, and she started dating some other guy."

"But now she's single again," Sophia happily said. "And she says she thinks you're cute."

Charles blushed and looked through the glasswall. Lichelle sure was beautiful, and when they had met at the inter-deparment competitions, she had always seemed like a sweet girl. They hadn't said many words to each other though.

"Thank you for telling me this," Charles said to Sophia. "But I don't think it's a good idea."

"Awww," Sophia whined. "Come on, Magnus. She is really cool and she likes you."

"And her legs go on forever," Vera contributed with a touch of jealousy, apparently she had been listening to their conversation.

"That may all be true," Charles said. "But I have a girlfriend, remember?"

"You do?" Sophia said in surprise. "Who? Is it you?" she asked, pointing at Vera.

"Nope," Vera said mysteriously.

"Who then? What's her name? Seanne?"

"Nope," Kurt said, smiling brightly.

"You don't know her, Sophia," Charles said, trying to find a way to avoid telling her a name, without raising suspicion.

Luckily, Sophia quit asking, instead she looked through the glass at her friend, who was still welding.

"Lichelle will be sorry to hear this," Sophia said.

"I'm sorry," Charles said, though he didn't think he had done anything wrong. "You can tell her, that if she hadn't started dating that other guy back then, I would definitely have been interested."

"That will only make her feel even worse, won't it?" Kurt asked.

Vera and Sophia nodded. "Knowing that she could have had you, that won't help at all," the engineer said wisely.

Charles sighed. "I'm hopeless with women."

"Apparently not all women," Sophia giggled.

They let Sarah and Yaroslav play with Henry the attack drone for a couple of minutes more before they all, Sophia included, decided to go for lunch.

Orion Hall was absolutely jam-packed with staff and students. Unfortunately, they had arrived right in the middle of rush hour.

"Hey guys," Seanne called over the buzz of the crowd and pushed her way to them. "Reiley and Prangley are with the kids. They are guarding a table for all of us."

"Brilliant," Kurt said and picked up Sarah and placed her on his shoulders. "If you little squirts get trampled upon, Sanders will kill us. It's a bloody stampede in here!"

Charles nodded and picked up Yaroslav to place him on his shoulders. Kurt was right, the hungry crowds of Orion Hall weren't always as careful as they should be with the academy's smaller students. Today was much worse than usual though, and Charles insisted, even though Yaroslav complained, that ten-year-old was much safer on his shoulders.

Charles was already among the tallest students on the station, but having Yaroslav on his shoulders proved to be a very good idea, since the young biotic had a bird's eye view of the crowd and was able to guide them to their table along the most efficient route.

On their way there, they stopped by the buffet to pick up some sandwiches and a few bottles of Tupari sports drink.

"Hey guys," Reiley said when they finally arrived at the table he and Prangley were sat at with their two younger companions, Sergio and Lotta. Charles and Kurt placed Yaroslav and Sarah next to their classmates and the four young biotics immediately started sharing their experiences from the first part of the day.

"Hey baby," Prangley said to Sophia as she took a seat next to him.

"You look awfully tired," she laughed and kissed his cheek.

"I don't think I'm meant to have kids," Prangley muttered. "They wear me down."

Reiley snorted. "Wearing you down? Please! Seanne and I have been doing almost everything all morning!"

Sophia laughed softly, but then became serious again. "So you don't want to have kids?" she asked Prangley.

Prangley winced, realizing that the conversation had taken a dangerous turn. "I'm not sure," he said.

"Think about how much fun you'd have making a baby," Sophia enticed.

Prangley smirked. "Maybe just one kid then," he relented.

Charles rolled his eyes at the couple, who were now intertwined in a passionate kiss.

"Hey, you two!" Vera hissed, as their kiss increased in intensity and Prangley's hands began exploring Sophia's curves. "Would you please control yourselves in front of the kids?"

Prangley scowled at her, while Sophia blushed as they made some distance between each other and returned their attention to the food in front of them.

While they were all eating, Jack joined them at their table with a lunch tray of her own. "Hey kids," she said and took a seat between the twins. "How are you doing?"

"Fine," Kurt said. "We've been showing Yaroslav and Sarah around the station."

"It's been great fun," Sarah happily chimed. "Well, except for that guy over in engineering."

Charles, Kurt, Vera and Sophia all held their breath. They knew that both Prangley and Jack would snap completely if they learned that Thomas Snow had been giving the kids a hard time.

"Snow?" Prangley venomously asked.

Yaroslav and Sarah nodded.

"That fucking shit stain again," Jack roared, completely ignoring the presence of four children, as she rose from the table.

"What did he do?" Prangley asked and turned to Charles, Vera and Kurt.

"Just the usual stuff. Being a jerk," Vera said, not wanting to excite Prangley or jack further.

"He called her a bitch," Sarah said and pointed to Sophia.

Charles and Sophia both closed their eyes simultaneously. They knew that this was the final straw that tipped Prangley over the edge.

"I'm gonna kill him," Prangley said with menacing calmness and rose from his seat.

"I'll help," Jack proclaimed, her fists glowing dangerously.

"No, please, Jason! Don't do it!" Sophia begged and tried to push her boyfriend back into his chair, while Vera and Charles was trying to reason with Jack.

"Ma'am," Vera tried. "He's not worth it! You'll be fired, and Prangley will be expelled."

"Not if we actually kill him," Prangley growled and tried to get past his girlfriend, who was now being helped by both Bellarmine twins.

"No," Kurt said, "if you kill him, you won't be fired or expelled. You'll go to prison!"

After that, Prangley and Jack both allowed themselves to be sat down again.

"When is our next inter-departmental exercise with you guys?" Prangley asked Sophia, who was holding his hand, stroking it to calm him down.

"Two weeks," Jack answered for her. "Hand-to-hand combat." The instructor gave Prangley an evil smirk.

Prangley laughed a menacing laugh. "Perfect!"

"I'm just sorry I can't participate," Jack muttered. "That little fucker deserves to have his balls ripped off and crammed down his throat."

"Jack!" Seanne squealed and tried to cover the ears of all four basics class students.

"Don't worry, ma'am," prangley said darkly, "I'll make you proud!"

After lunch, Sophia said goodbye and returned to her work with Lichelle. The advanced class students and their instructor agreed to bring the younger students back to Ascension Hall to visit the gym, which seemed to brighten Prangley's mood considerably.

Walking to the gym, they were nearing Prangley's domain, which made him participate a little more in the tutoring of the younger students. The gym rat was leading the way, excitedly explaining to Yaroslav, Sarah, Lotta and Sergio how, when they became a little older, they would be allowed to use the gym on their own.

Charles deliberately fell behind, hoping that Jack would take it as a signal to come and speak to him. After a couple of minutes, she seemed to understand, and she slowed down her pace until she, unnoticed by everyone, was walking next to him.

"Hey," he said, stealing a sidelong glance at her uniformed body.

"Hi," she replied with a wry smile.

"Have you spoken to Sanders?" Charles asked and did his best to keep looking straight forward this time.

"Yup," Jack said and walked a little closer, so she could whisper to him. "She's going to look through the school rules today. If we are in violation, she's probably going to interfere."

"Why?" Charles asked. "Why can't she just leave us alone?"

Jack shrugged. "I think she genuinely wants what's best for us," she said, surprisingly diplomatic. "She's just so fucking worried that we're not healthy for each other, that she believes breaking us up might be in our best interest."

"Our best interest?" Charles hissed. "How can she think that? I literally panicked in her office this morning when I thought she had sent you away!"

Jack smiled at him, and Charles had to remind himself not to embrace her or at least grab her hand. "So we wait and see?" he asked instead.

Jack nodded. "I think that's all we can do right now."

Charles tried to give her a reassuring smile, but his own optimism wasn't exactly overwhelming, which made it hard to pass on to the woman next to him. Without noticing, they had been drawn to each other and was walking so close together that his hand was brushing against her arm.

Vera turned around and saw them. She cleared her throat loudly and reminded them, that they were walking in a public area, a bit too close for what was normal for an instructor and a student. Jack gave Charles a little wink and quickened her pace until she was next to Vera, who she fell into conversation with.

"Let's give the younglings a bit of a show," Prangley suggested as they entered the gym. "How about some biotic sparring?"

"Good idea," Jack said, "that will give you guys some training as well."

"Who wants to go a few rounds with me?" Prangley gleefully asked.

Nobody volunteered.

"Oh, come on!" Prangley complained. "I won't go all out, I promise."

"Sorry mate," Kurt laughed, "but it's no fun when you know you're going to lose."

"Charles is probably the only one who could hope to compete with you," Seanne said.

"Hah," Charles huffed. "What would I do? Just hope that my powers cooperate?"

"You shouldn't even try it, Charles," Vera said worriedly. "It's too dangerous! If you can't biotically defend yourself, Prangley could seriously harm you."

"And if your raw power is really as massive as the doctors think," Jack added, "you could turn Prangley to jelly with your mind. Accidentally of course."

"I highly doubt that," Prangley self-confidently said.

"Let's see you do a biotic charge then, big boy," Kurt laughed, slapping Prangley's back.

"Hmmm," Prangley grumbled, "I see your point. So nobody wants to fight me?"

"I could fight you," Jack suggested.

"Cool," Prangley said, smiling brightly.

"Is that a good idea, ma'am?" Vera asked.

"What now, Rodriguez?" Prangley was getting impatient.

"Jack is considered to be the strongest human biotic to date," Vera reminded him. "She's an even bigger danger to you than Charles."

"But I'm able to control my powers," Jack remarked. "Well, most of the time."

"You're not gonna harm me, ma'am," Prangley reassured her with his most winning smile. "You love me too much."

Jack laughed scornfully. "In your dreams, big guy!"

"So you'll fight me?" Prangley asked hopefully.

Jack smiled and nodded. "It's on. Just don't cry when I beat you."

While Prangley and their instructor readied themselves, Charles, his classmates and their four young guests expectantly found seats on the gym's benches. None of them had ever seen Jack actually fighting against anyone, and even though it was just a sparring match, they were all very excited to see what she could do.

"Let's go," Jack said and started circling around her opponent.

"You're eager to lose, ma'am?" Prangley taunted and curled his hands into fists. Immediately, they started glowing dangerously.

"You've got a bigger mouth than me, Prangley," Jack laughed and feigned an attack to the left.

The two continued to circle around each other, and all the spectators waited anxiously for the fight to kick off for real.

"Why don't your powers work?" a high pitched girl's voice chirped next to Charles.

He sighed. It was not the first time that day, which he found Sarah's curiosity a little frustrating. "I don't know," he honestly answered. "I hope they will work soon."

"Me too," the little girl said and gave him a friendly smile.

"Thanks, Sarah," Charles said and ruffled her hair. He felt bad for getting irritated at her.

"Rargh!" Prangley roared and brought Charles' attention back to the fight. Jack had thrown up a barrier, and Prangley was firing one biotic attack after the other against it, without result.

"Getting tired?" Jack laughed from inside her blue barrier. The instructor was smiling at her student, who was glaring back at her with anger.

"Getting bored!" he yelled. "Are you going to fight me, or are you going to hide in there forever?"

"Impatient, Prangley?" Jack asked, still smirking.

"Very!" he admitted angrily. "I thought you said you were an offensive fighter!"

Jack's smile broadened. "Would you like me to attack you?"

"Yes!" Prangley roared.

The instructor let out a little laugh. "As you wish."

With an incredibly bright flash of light, Jack's barrier expanded outward like a massive explosion which knocked Prangley off his feet and sent him flying across the gym. Just inches before colliding with the wall, Prangley used a biotic field of his own to propel himself back into the middle of the room.

"Now we're having fun," he said as he landed on his feet in front of Jack.

Charles could feel the biotic energy in the room as the two fighters readied their next moves. It sent shivers down his spine, and his teeth were tingling.

"Wow," Kurt cheered, "I can feel it in my own amps!" However, Charles didn't have time to respond, because Prangley and Jack had resumed their fight. This time, the instructor opened. With glowing fists, Jack started pummeling her student with punches. To begin with, it looked like Prangley would be able to fend her off, but then she kicked at his leg and managed to swoop him off his feet.

Prangley rolled away from her and stood back up. The big student didn't even have time to take a proper fighting stance, before Jack used a biotic charge and smashed into his torso with unstoppable force. This time, Prangley had no chance to react, and he was slammed into a wall.

Jack lazily pulled him to his feet with her biotics, only to lift him into the air before slamming the already battered student to the floor.

Without hesitation, Jack was over him and punched him straight in the mouth. Thankfully, she didn't put any of her biotic power into it, but it was still a pretty decent punch.

She grabbed the collar of her student, who was now bleeding from one eye-brow and held her other fist over his head. This time, her fist was glowing dangerously.

"Ma'am!" Vera squealed in fear. "You'll kill him!"

Kurt and the twins looked equally worried, while all four basics class students were staring at the victorious instructor. Charles couldn't tell if they were more impressed or scared of Jack's performance. He didn't even know if he himself was scared or impressed. Probably both. One thing he knew for sure, if Jack biotically punched Prangley in the head, Vera was right: He would be dead as a fucking doornail, not to mention missing his head completely. Having seen Jack disintegrate several of the gym's heavy punch bags with a single biotic jab, Charles sincerely hoped, that Jack wasn't planning on punching his classmate.

Jack pulled back her fist, ready to punch, and Vera and Seanne both covered their eyes.

"Give up?" Jack asked.

"Of course he does!" Vera, who had dared to open her eyes again, shouted.

Prangley turned his head to the side and spat a considerable amount of blood out on the gym floor.

"Never," he said with a defiant smile, showing his blood-covered teeth.

"Don't be stupid!" Reiley screamed at his battered friend, while Jack pulled back her fist a further. The instructor's hand was now glowing so brightly with biotic power, that it almost hurt to look at.

"Last chance!" Jack screamed into Prangley's face. "Do you quit?"

"Fuck no!" Prangley spat.

Everybody held their breath, and awaited the explosion of the stubborn students head. It never came. Instead, Jack smiled at him and pulled him to his feet.

"Correct answer," she said. "We never, and I mean NEVER quit. Not for any fucking reason! Sorry kids… Uhmm… Not for any darn reason."

Prangley received at pat on the back from Jack and took a seat next to Charles.

"Damn, she's good," he panted and grabbed the energy bar he was offered by Kurt.

Charles nodded.

"I don't even think she really tried. She didn't go all out," Prangley continued and wiped some blood from the corner of his mouth. "Remember how she told us she fights better angry?"

Charles nodded again.

"She didn't get angry at all," Prangley said and pointed at Jack, who was being reprimanded by Vera and Seanne for traumatizing Sarah, Yaroslav, Sergio and Lotta. In reality, the two female students of the advanced class had been much more nervous than the four younger students.

"No," Charles said. "She didn't seem to get angry at all. I'm not sure if I'd like to see her when she's really pissed off. That'd be scary as hell."

Prangley smiled and nodded in agreement before wiping some more blood from his eyebrow. "It was a good fight though."

"Dude, you got your ass kicked!" Kurt laughed.

"True," Prangley admitted. "But that's how you learn."

"Can we see another fight?" Sarah asked.

"Nielsen and Rodriguez, why don't you have a go?" Jack suggested.

Kurt shrugged and looked at Vera for confirmation.

"Yes!" Vera excitedly said and stepped out into the middle of the room.

"Go easy on her, Nielsen!" Prangley yelled to Kurt, who had left the benches to join Vera on the floor.

"Hah!" Jack scoffed. "If Rodriguez uses her barriers wisely, Nielsen won't stand a chance. Always play your strengths!"

Predictably, Vera started the fight by raising a barrier around herself. Kurt sighed. Like his friends, he knew that Vera's greatest talent was her biotic barriers. They were even stronger than Prangley's and damn near impenetrable.

While holding up her barrier with one hand, Vera waved her other and sent various heavy objects flying at Kurt who had to throw up a barrier of his own to avoid being torpedoed by a punching bag.

Seeing that her attacks had failed, Vera ran towards her friend and took advantage of the superior power of her barrier, which caused Kurt's weaker barrier to drop while Vera converted her own powerful biotic shield into a throw that sent Kurt skipping across the gym floor. With a loud crash, He slammed into a water cooler which tilted and covered him in ice cold water.

"Kurt!" Vera yelped and ran towards him. "Are you okay?"

"I'll live," Kurt spluttered, and crawled away from the water cooler.

"Good," Vera said and pushed him onto his back with the sole of her boot. With a smile, she copied Jack and grabbed his collar while raising a biotically charged fist over his head. "Do you give up?" she asked and waved the glowing hand in front of his eyes.

Kurt smiled at her and winked. Even when he was drenched to the bone and being beaten by his best friend, who also happened to be a girl, the blond was humorous. "Never!" he dramatically yelled. Even though he was making a joke, Jack seemed to appreciate, that he had listened to what she said earlier, and she gave him a satisfied smile as he was helped to his feet by Vera.

After that, Jack and her students gave their four guests some actual practice. They tried to teach them how to levitate tennis balls. After about an hour of coaching, all four of them had grasped the technique and they had moved on to making the tennis balls fly towards a target. The target happened to be Charles, who had volunteered, because, sadly, that was the biggest contribution he could give to the teaching of the basics students.

It pained him to see Yaroslav, who was much younger than him, pick up a tennis ball and throw it at his face with just the power of his mind. It was a bit unfair, he thought, that Yaroslav, a quiet little kid who had just arrived at the academy, was able to control his biotics so well, while he, an eighteen-year-old with several weeks of practice, had no control whatsoever.

Several times he tried to create a barrier instead of simply dodging the tennis balls, but all he was able to do was making his hands glow slightly. A little blue light at the fingertips was hardly worth the headache that it was giving him. On top of that, he'd taken several tennis balls to groin (where Kurt unceremoniously had instructed the kids to aim) while fruitlessly waving his hands like an idiot instead of just stepping to the side.

"I think that's enough!" Jack said after yet another bullseye from Sarah.

"She's worried you won't be any good tonight if the kids keep busting your marbles," Kurt laughed and slapped Charles' back.

"Cool it, Nielsen," Charles said and gave his friend his best frown. "Thanks for telling them where to aim by the way!"

"You're welcome," Kurt grinned.

After following the basics students back to their own classroom, Jack announced that they had the rest of the day off.

Prangley immediately disappeared in direction of the engineering department, where he, undoubtedly, was going to try to convince Sophia to stop working and coming to his room instead.

The Bellarmines went back to the gym, while Kurt and Vera left to make a vid-call to their friends back in the colony on Terra Nova, leaving Charles and Jack standing awkwardly alone in the middle of Ascension Hall.

"So.." Jack uncomfortably said.

"Yeah," Charles replied, just as uncomfortably.

"Bed?" Jack suggested with a wry grin.

Charles' heart skipped a beat. He hadn't expected that.

"Oh yeah," he ended up saying, nervously scanning his surroundings. They were completely alone in the hallway.

Jack decisively grabbed him by the wrist and started to drag him towards her office, or more accurately, her bed.

"Maybe we should just skip the bed and go straight to the bathtub?" Jack purred. "I'm gonna give you a bath you'll never forget."

Charles' face reddened and he could feel his manhood stirring in his pants. This was the best way to end a school day.

As they were walking past Sanders' office, the door suddenly opened and the head director stepped out into the corridor directly in front of them. She looked from Jack to Charles and back at Jack again.

"Hello," she said, but then she noticed how Jack had been dragging Charles down the hallway by the wrist (not that he wasn't willingly following her) and the bulge in his pants.

"Really?" she huffed and crossed her arms. "In the middle of the god damn day?"

"Sorry, ma'am," Charles said.

"Don't apologize!" Jack said angrily and tightened her grip around his arm. "You've done nothing wrong!"

"Actually," Sanders sighed and looked at Jack, "neither have you."

"What do you mean?" Jack asked.

"I checked the regulations. There are no rules prohibiting relationships between instructors and students. As long as the student is at least eighteen years old, that is. Eighteen also happens to be the age required to attend our advanced classes."

Jack smiled triumphantly and turned to Charles. "You haven't lied about your age, have you?"

He shook his head, "nope."

"It's like they never expected this to happen when they wrote the rules," Sanders said.

"So what happens now?" Charles curiously asked the head director. He doubted that Sanders would just let them be, even though she they weren't violating school rules.

"I can't give you my full acceptance. I'm still not convinced that what you're doing is a good idea. My acceptance, however, is not something you need, and I'm not saying that I will never give it to you. I just can't right now. With that said, Jack, you don't need to fear for your job. I won't tell anybody else about this."

"Thank you," Jack said.

"You guys should be a little more discreet though," Sanders remarked.

"Does our relationship really repulse you that much?" Jack asked.

"It doesn't repulse me," Sanders said. "But if anybody else learns that you're together, they could go directly to top management, and then they might decide to change the rules. I was trying to give you guys a chance. Not trying to make things more comfortable for myself, although I must admit that the thought of what you two do behind closed doors makes me a little uneasy."

Jack smirked cunningly. "Then you'll enjoy this, boss."

She pushed Charles up against the wall and stood on her toes to reach his lips. Pressing her body against his, she started to rub her hands all over him.

"Jack!" Sanders yelled. "Jack! Stop! Right now!"

Charles had been surprised by Jack's "attack", but as Sanders continued to beg them to stop, he was starting to get into it. He even had the courage to place his hands on Jack's ass, which only increased the head director's pleas for mercy.

Sadly, Jack eventually decided to follow Sanders' directions, and she stepped away from him.

Charles smiled at the lieutenant. He had lipstick all over his mouth, chin and cheeks. "Sorry, ma'am."

"Just kidding," Jack said and gave her a smile of her own. The head director had become very, very red in the face and her jaw had dropped the moment Charles' hands had started caressing Jack's ass.

"Son of a bitch…" Sanders cursed and stormed back into her office. "It's just wrong, Jack! You guys go do whatever it is you do, but please don't ever do that in front of me again."

"I don't think she enjoyed that," Charles noted as Sanders' door closed behind her. "Why must you piss her off like that? She promised not to tell anybody about us."

"Why the fuck not?" Jack said and started dragging him towards her office again. "And if I remember correctly, you grabbed my ass, which couldn't have made it any easier for her."

"Guilty," Charles said with a smile. "I couldn't resist."

"You bastard," Jack said and swiped her ID card over the door panel. "Your filthy hands are the reason why Sanders will shit bricks every time she sees us together in the future."

"You started it," Charles defended.

"And I'm finishing it," she replied and pushed him through the open doorway. "Get that uniform off while I'm filling the tub."

"Aye aye, ma'am!"

* * *

_A/N:_

_There were a few things I wanted to do, and I kind of collected all of those things in this chapter._

_I wanted the students to interact a bit with the rest of the Ascension Project, which is why I introduced the four "younglings". I also wanted to show a bit of the "magic" of Grissom Academy (being a place for the brightest young minds humanity has to offer) which is why I decided to let them take the kids for a tour of some of the other departments._

_The sparring match between Prangley and Jack has also been something I wanted to do since day one. It all kinda fit together in this chapter, but it may be a bit too fluffy, if you're a big fan of more streamlined story lines._

_The most important thing in this chapter is, of course, what goes on between Jack, Charles and Kahlee._

_Biotic Beginnings has reached 100,000 Words now. Something I can honestly say, is a big surprise to me._

_I didn't expect this to be as big a project as it has become._

_Now, I'm planning to take this story to the end of the reaper war and possibly beyond. I'm not saying it's going to be over a million Words, but hey, who knows what could happen?_

_Thanks to everybody who has favorited/alerted Biotic Beginnings. I'm pleased that there are a few of you who thinks my story is worth paying attention to._

_I don't like begging for reviews, but let me just say this: Reviewers, You Rock! (seriously, the reviews are helpful and inspirational. Thanks)_

_Can any of you recommend some good ME Fanfiction (maybe your own)? If you've read Biotic Beginnings so far, you might have an idea, what kind of stories I enjoy to read._

_Ciao for now._

_- Simon_


	24. Invaders Must Die

Chapter Twenty-Four – Invaders Must Die

Charles had never enjoyed waking up in the morning as much as he did now. It had been a few weeks since Lieutenant Sanders had learned about their relationship, and he had begun sleeping in Jack's quarters every night. Part of him feared, that Jack was only inviting him to stay the nights because she wanted to piss off the head director, but the nights were so pleasurable that he just didn't care what her reasons were. Though he certainly didn't get as much sleep as he probably should, the mornings were much more interesting than when he was alone in his own room.

"You're a bit of a blanket thief, you know that?" Charles asked as he woke up freezing cold.

"Hmmm," Jack sleepily moaned. "Too early!"

"Then give me my share of the blanket."

He tugged at the fabric, but Jack was holding on to it.

"Mine!" she said.

"If you don't share I'll freeze to death!" Charles complained and touched her back with his cold hands for emphasis.

"Shit, you're cold!" Jack yelped and moved away from him, pulling the last of the blanket with her.

"Very," Charles said. "Are you going to share?"

"Don't worry, I'll get you warm," Jack huskily said and threw herself on top of him before pulling the blanket over both of them.

Charles gave her a kiss. "You really are a blanket thief!"

"Well, you talk in your sleep!"

"I do?"

"Yup."

Charles was getting curious. He never knew that he talked in his sleep. "What do I say?"

"My name," Jack whispered and bit his earlobe. "Repeatedly…"

Charles laughed. "Considering what I'm doing with you every night before I fall asleep, I guess I shouldn't be surprised that you invade my dreams as well."

"You dream about me?" Jack asked.

"It would seem so," Charles said with a shrug. "But I can't remember all my dreams, so who knows? Maybe I was dreaming about someone else named Jack."

"Are you dreaming about other women while sleeping in my bed, Magnus?" Jack asked. She sounded genuinely angry.

"No, no, no!" Charles quickly ensured her. "I don't even know any other women named Jack."

"So you were dreaming about a man?"

"What? No! Even though I don't remember, I think it's safe to say, that if I'm saying 'Jack' in my sleep, I'm dreaming about you."

"I hope so," Jack said and hugged him tightly.

Charles made a mental note never to give Jack a reason to think he was cheating on her, or even thinking about other women. She was a little possessive and a lot crazy. Not the best combination. He had decided that he was going to talk to her about it at some point, but he hadn't been able to muster the courage to do so yet.

"You know I love you, right?" he said, trying to calm her down. Now was not the time to discuss her jealousy issues.

"Mhmm," she said and squeezed him tighter. She was putting her biotics into it now, and it was starting to hurt quite a bit.

"I can't breathe," Charles hissed.

"Whoops, sorry," Jack said and loosened her grip.

Aside from Jack's insecurities and his own bruised ribs, Charles was enjoying this morning immensely. Having Jack laying sprawled on top of him butt naked was wonderful, and he let his hands wander up and down her body, while Jack winced as his cold fingers brushed against her skin.

Charles glanced at the alarm clock. It was just thirty minutes until he had to meet with the rest of his class and Sergeant Wolff at the shooting range. Jack, on the other hand, had the day off.

"I gotta go," he said, trying to escape Jack's kisses for long enough to form a sentence.

"Fuck Wolff!" Jack said and pushed him back into the mattress. "You're my fucking student, and I will say when you have to go."

Charles laughed against her lips. "I'm yours alright. But I'm not your student today. Today, I'm his student."

Jack sighed. "You're such a teacher's pet, Magnus!"

"I'm not! Well… Yours maybe, but certainly not Wolff's!"

"Then why don't we just pretend that you're sick, and you can stay here with me? I'll write you a note!"

Charles laughed. "If you did that. Lied for me… We would have to step off our high horse and stop telling people, that I'm not with you for personal gain."

"Fine," Jack sighed and rolled off him, making sure to rub him all the right places as she did. She definitely wanted him to realize, what he was missing out on. "Go! You fucking Goody Two-Shoes!"

"Why don't you wait for me right here," Charles said, "I'll come see you before lunch."

"Deal," Jack said and crawled back under the blanket. "I can get some more sleep then."

Charles brushed his teeth and gathered his clothes, which in usual fashion had been tossed all over Jack's bedroom when the two of them went to bed last night.

Just as he was about to kiss Jack 'goodbye', the intercom beeped and a dark male voice boomed out of the loudspeakers.

"_Staff and students of Grissom Academy! This is Captain Vejovic speaking! I am the Alliance security officer of Grissom Academy! Please make your way to Orion Hall immediately. I repeat: Make your way to Orion Hall immediately! Please do so in an orderly fashion."_

"What the fuck was that about?" Jack asked, jumped out of bed and started to get dressed.

"Dunno," Charles shrugged. "Sounds important though!"

He allowed Jack to get completely dressed before they ran out into the hallway together.

Ascension Hall was empty, but then Lieutenant Sanders stepped out of her office door and started running towards them.

"Have you heard?" she squealed, entirely too upset to comment on the two of them stepping out of Jack's office together.

"Heard what?" Jack asked. "The announcement? Of course we fucking heard!"

"No!" Sanders screamed. The tears were pouring out of her eyes. "Not that!"

Charles was starting to get seriously concerned. The always calm and collected head director seemed to be scared out of her mind. "What then?" he asked, while Jack tried to comfort her boss.

"The reapers," Sanders sobbed. "They have invaded Earth!"

Charles just didn't have a response to that. He was frozen in place, and his brain had stopped functioning. All it was doing was replaying Sanders' words over and over again: "The reapers have invaded Earth! The reapers have invaded Earth! THE REAPERS HAVE INVADED EARTH!"

Finally, another thought popped into his brain: His parents!

Right about now, he wished that he hadn't been told all the things that Jack had told them about the horrors of fighting the collectors. As far as he understood, the collectors were merely pawns of the reapers, and therefore, the reapers could be expected to be that much worse. And now they had attacked Earth.

Sanders had managed to pull herself together, but as she saw the panicked look on Charles face, she started crying again, this time for him, and wrapped him in her arms.

"My mother," Charles muttered. "My father. I have to go home!"

"It's too dangerous," Sanders said and hugged him tighter, signaling to him, that he had to stay.

"What the fuck do we do?" Jack asked.

"Let's go to Orion Hall," Sanders said and let go of Charles. "We need to hear what the Alliance wants us to do."

Once again, Captain Vejovic's booming voice was heard over the station-wide intercom ordering everyone to assemble in Orion Hall.

"What about Commander Shepard?" Jack asked as they stepped out of Ascension Hall and into the crowded public corridor. "If we're fighting the reapers, we'll need Shepard!"

"I don't know," Sanders shouted over the loud mumbling of the crowd. "Last I heard, he was still in prison."

"Alliance high command is one big gathering of political ass wipes!" Jack said angrily. "There's one motherfucker in this galaxy who might actually be able to do something about the reapers, and then those fucking cocksuckers decide to throw him in jail."

A young man around Charles' age walked over to them. "Did you say reapers, just before? I swear, I heard you said reapers?"

"Reapers?" Another student said. "Is this what this is all about?"

"Of course not," said a girl, who had overheard it all. "The reapers are just a myth!"

"Fuck you!" Jack spat at the younger woman. "Stupid bimbo! The reapers are real, and they have attacked Earth!"

"Who are you calling a stupid bimbo, slut?" The girl hissed and pushed Jack so she stumbled back into Charles, who caught her from tripping.

"Ladies!" Sanders shouted. "Bitch fighting is hardly the solution to our biggest problem right now!"

The girl huffed and stepped away from the scene, while Charles had to work very hard to keep Jack from attacking her.

"Have the reapers really attacked earth?" One of the boys from earlier asked.

Sanders nodded and turned to Jack, who had calmed down enough for Charles to let go of her. "Jack, you probably shouldn't say it to anyone else. They'll all hear it once we get to Orion Hall. There's no reason to cause panic in the corridors."

"I won't tell anyone else," the boy promised Sanders.

"Good lad," Sanders said and sent him away.

"Sorry," Jack said to the lieutenant. "It's just… I get so mad when people insist on calling the reapers a myth. I lose control."

"I know," Sanders said and patted her back. "Let's just get to Orion Hall, okay?"

Along with Jack, Sanders and hundreds of other students, Charles shuffled along the crowded corridors until they reached their destination. The mighty Orion Hall had been cleared of tables, and a podium had been placed in the middle of it all.

The floor was alive with students of all ages pushing and shoving to get as close to the podium as possible. Charles even saw a few staff members push students aside to get a better spot for themselves. There were several thousand people in Orion Hall, and Charles feared, that when the news of the reaper invasion was revealed, panic would ensue and people could get hurt in the crowds.

"Silence!" an older man in an Alliance uniform demanded from the podium. His voice was amplified through loudspeakers and easily filled the entire room. "Silence!" he repeated, and the murmurs of the crowd slowly faded. Charles recognized his voice. It was Captain Vejovic, the security officer who had ordered all of them to assemble in Orion Hall.

People were still entering the room and Vejovic asked the ones who were already in Orion Hall to move closer together, so they could make room for everyone.

Eventually, every single inhabitant of Jon Grissom Academy had been crammed into Orion Hall, and Captain Vejovic stepped back to the microphone. From his heightened position on the center podium, he could be seen by everyone.

"Attention!" he yelled. "Attention!"

Orion Hall became completely silent surprisingly quick, and it was awkward, almost eerie, to be standing in the enormous room with thousands of other people in total silence. The tension in the air was so thick, you could cut it with a knife.

"My name is Captain Peter Vejovic," the security officer continued. "I am the Alliance officer in charge of safety here at the Jon Grissom Academy. I've called you all here, because we have received some very troubling news."

Nervous chatter broke out amongst the students again.

"Silence!" Vejovic roared and got the attention of the crowd once more. "There's no point in sugar coating it, so I will just say it as it is: The reapers have attacked."

A collective gasp went through the crowd, and the captain had to raise his voice even further. "For a long time, the reaper threat has been discarded and treated as a ghost story by most of us, but resent events has proved to all of us, that the reapers are real. And that they pose a substantial threat. Most recently, we've heard rumors of reapers attacking the batarian homeworlds, but still, the magnitude and the power of these… monsters... has been too massive for us to fathom. Now, however, there's just no way of denying it any longer. The reapers have invaded the Sol system and they have deployed ground troops on Earth. They are there in force, and we've lost almost every single comm channel. Ladies and gentlemen, Earth is lost!"

Many people were crying at this point. Several had fainted while others were in a state of shock. Charles belonged to the latter category. Vejovic had said that Earth was lost. What that meant exactly, Charles didn't quite understand, but in his head, it could mean anything from the death of every living being on the planet to something a little less horrible.

He grabbed Lieutenant Sanders by the shoulders. "What's that supposed to mean? I have to know if my parents are okay!"

Her teary blue eyes looked back at his, and she put her hands on his cheeks. "I don't know," she said. "But it could just be a tactical thing."

Thankfully, Vejovic managed to silence the hall, so he could continue to explain. "Many of us have family and friends back on Earth or on other planets which have also been targeted by the enemy, and none of us like, that the Alliance had to leave our own planet, but right now, we need to reorganize, coordinate with the other races and begin to make plans for reclaiming the home world. Let me assure you, that just because you're relatives are still on Earth, it doesn't necessarily mean that they're lost. The reapers appear to be focusing on the urban areas, where the population density is highest. If people just stay out of the cities, they'll have a good chance of making it until we can come up with a plan to retake Earth."

"You hear that, Magnus?" Sanders whispered to him. "Your parents still live in the little village, right?"

He nodded.

"Then they're probably alright," the head director said and squeezed his arm reassuringly.

Charles didn't quite know if he believed her. The words 'reaper invasion' and 'Earth is lost' kept ringing in his ears.

"We can't just stay here," Jack said. "We have to go to Earth!"

"Yes!" Charles said. "I have to save my parents!"

"Please calm down, Jack," Sanders told the instructor. "We can't go to Earth right now. You heard what the captain said. We have to reorganize before we can form any kind of counterattack."

"Fuck that!" Jack spat. "I want to kick the reapers where it hurts!"

"Me too!" Charles growled. "The others will want to fight too."

"Your classmates?" Sanders asked.

"Yes," Charles said.

"Hmmm," Sanders said and turned her attention to the podium again.

"Quiet!" Captain Vejovic shouted and managed to bring a little order to the chaos that had ensued his last message. "Here is what we need you to right now: Instructors, please gather your students in your classrooms. You need to stay there until you receive further notice. I want the head director of each and every department to attend an emergency meeting in the Aldrin Atrium. Please, everyone, do as I say and try to remain calm!"

If people were trying to remain calm, they weren't doing a very good job. The moment Captain Vejovic stepped down from the atrium, people immediately started pushing and shoving to reach the doors. Everybody wanted to get back to their classrooms as fast as possible, so they could get some more information.

"I'll come and see you guys after the meeting," Sanders said and started moving towards the Aldrin Atrium.

"Right," Jack said and started pulling Charles with her as she pushed her way to the nearest exit.

Charles was still in a state of shock. On one hand, he just wanted to jump on the first available shuttle and fly home to his parents. But on the other hand, what would he do if he actually managed to get himself to Earth? Kick the reapers to death and evacuate his parents? Captain Vejovic and Lieutenant Sanders were right, he had to remain calm and wait for the Alliance to come up with some kind of plan.

The walk back to Ascension Hall proved to be even more insane than walking to Orion Hall earlier had been. Now, everybody was tense and a little push or even someone brushing against someone else in the crowded hallway was enough to set off a fight. Several times on their way to the classroom, Charles and Jack had to stop to try to break up brawls, which seemed to erupt all around them. Well, it was mostly Jack who parted the brawler. Though Charles' size could be intimidating to some, it wasn't anywhere near as effective as Jack laying down the law with her biotics.

Eventually, they stepped into Ascension Hall and Charles sighed of relief.

"You're more used to these things than me. Do people always go crazy like this?"

"When they're scared," Jack said dryly. "And with the reapers on Earth, everyone is scared shitless."

"Yeah," Charles said thoughtfully.

"How about you?" Jack asked. "How are you holding up?"

"I'm scared too," Charles replied honestly. "But I won't let it cloud my judgment."

"What do you want to do? I'll go with you, wherever you will go."

"I want to go and get my parents, but I know I can't," Charles sighed.

"I'm sure they're okay," Jack said. "You heard what Kahlee said. If they stay out of the cities, the reapers won't bother coming after them."

"My parents would never leave the village," Charles said confidently. He knew that this was true. His parents almost never left their little home town in peace time, and he didn't see why that should change while under invasion.

"Good," Jack said. "But if you change your mind, I'll go with you and we can try to evacuate your folks."

"Thanks," Charles said and grabbed her hand to give it a little squeeze. He quickly let it go again: There were many younger students and their instructors in Ascension Hall, and even though all of them had more important things on their minds, Charles didn't want it to seem like he was doing anything more than talking to his teacher.

All of Charles' classmates were already in the classroom when he and Jack entered.

"Oh Charles," Vera cried and gave him a hug as he entered the room. "Your parents!"

"I'm okay," Charles assured her. "What about the rest of you? I can't be the only one who has family on Earth."

"You're not," Kurt said and helped Vera back to her seat. "My grandparents live in Manchester."

"My uncle lives with his family in Spain," Vera sobbed.

"Our cousin was stationed on an Alliance base near Copenhagen," said Reiley.

"But we don't know whether he was part of the Alliance retreat or not," his sister added.

"He would have wanted to stay and fight," Reiley said with pride.

"Let's hope they didn't give him the choice then," Seanne deadpanned.

"It's not the same for us though," Kurt said. "Both your parents are on Earth, yeah?"

Charles nodded. "But I don't want you all to feel sorry for me. You should stay concerned about your own families, and I will worry about mine."

"Charles," Vera sighed. "This is not the time to shut us out."

"I'm not," Charles said. "I'll let you know, if there's anything you can do for me. But I expect all of you to allow me to help you too!"

"Sure," the Bellarmines chorused.

"Deal," Prangley said.

"We're in this together," Kurt agreed.

Charles nodded appreciatively and took a seat at an empty desk. Instead of sitting on her own table, like she normally did, Jack pulled out her chair and placed it next to Charles'. She slipped her hand into his and leaned her head on his shoulder.

"What do you think will happen?" Prangley asked no-one in particular.

"Dunno," Charles sighed.

"They're going to evacuate the station for sure," Vera said. "It's not safe enough here."

"Where to?" Kurt asked. "We can't go to Earth."

"Elysium maybe. Or Benning… Or Bekenstein."

"Maybe," Prangley said with a shrug. "Who knows which colonies are safe."

"Maybe it's safer if we all just stay here," Seanne suggested.

"Perhaps," Vera said, "but I still think they're going to evacuate the station."

"There are more than eight thousand students here," Jack said, "and hundreds of staff members. Moving all those people is going to be one hell of a job."

"Let's not worry too much before we know what's actually going to happen," Kurt wisely suggested.

"Right," Vera agreed. "Let's talk about something else."

For the next two hours they desperately tried to avoid the subject that was on everyone's mind. Mostly, they just sat there in silence; Charles with Jack leaned against him, which brought him some comfort. From time to time, they would small talk about mundane things such as their grades, food, parties or their hatred of Sergeant Wolff - Anything that would take their minds off the reaper invasion for just a couple of minutes.

Finally, Sanders came back from the directors' meeting. She didn't need to call for their attention, it was fully hers from the moment she entered the classroom.

"They're evacuating the academy," she said. "They're going to arrange transport to the Citadel."

"The Citadel?" Jack echoed. "Why not one of the colonies?"

"To be honest, the Alliance doesn't have the complete overview required to make an informed decision about where to place us. They are not sure which systems are under reaper control and which aren't. It's believed that the reapers could be striking against every single planet inhabited by organics."

"Won't the reapers attack the Citadel as well?" Vera asked.

"They probably will," Sanders acknowledged. "But the Citadel is probably the most defensible position in the galaxy. Besides, many of the students are merely children, and from the Citadel, we can start reuniting the families as soon as possible."

"So we're just supposed to sit there on the Citadel, twiddling our thumbs while waiting for the reapers to attack?" Prangley spat.

"I'm not going to lie to you," Sanders said. "You are old enough to know the truth: Yes. Though I wouldn't put it exactly like that, that is the plan in a nutshell. We're supposed to stay at the Citadel until this entire thing passes."

"That's bullshit, ma'am!" Prangley shouted.

"Jason!" the head director said in a stern voice. "It's not my plan."

"Sorry, ma'am," Prangley muttered. "I just don't want to sit around and wait for the reapers to kill us all."

"I understand, but what do you suggest we do? You can't just attack the reapers head on. You would be killed… I… I… I won't allow it."

"But I want to fight, ma'am!" Prangley insisted.

"It's suicide, Prangley. I'm not going to let you throw your life away like that!" Sanders firmly said.

"With all due respect, ma'am," Prangley calmly replied. "I believe it's my life to throw away, and that I should be allowed to throw it at whatever cause I find worthy."

"I want to fight too," Kurt said in a determined tone. "Though I'm not as eager to die as Ensign Prangley over here."

"I thought you were still undecided about being a soldier," Vera said, the hint of a smile in the corners of her mouth.

"Things have changed," the blond said in an uncharacteristically dark voice.

"I think we all want to fight," Reiley said and looked around for confirmation.

His sister nodded her approval. Prangley's support was a given, and Vera gave Kurt a pat on the back and announced her will to resist the reapers as well. Everybody, including Jack and Sanders, looked at Charles. Like Kurt, he had never really committed to becoming an Alliance soldier. Lately, he had excused himself by saying, that he wouldn't decide anything until he knew if his powers were going to develop or not.

Kurt was right though. Things had changed. Everything had changed. The reapers were a threat to the people he loved, and he wasn't just going to sit around, waiting to be killed - Like a pig for slaughter.

No! He was going to fight!

It was a new feeling: A feeling of both anger and fear, but most of all, a feeling of purpose. He knew what he wanted to do. What he had to do. He didn't give a shit if his biotics worked or not, he was going to fight alongside his friends, even if that meant punching, kicking, biting or scratching.

"Hell yeah, I'll fight!" he said, igniting cheers amongst his classmates.

Lieutenant Sanders breathed an audible sigh and put her head in her hands. "I admire your courage," she said tiredly. "I really do. You kids are wonderful, but I'm not letting you do this."

"But.." Prangley began, but was cut off by the head director.

"You will follow Alliance directions. And right now, we have been ordered to take you and everybody else to the Citadel."

"Ma'am…" Kurt tried, but he too was interrupted by Sanders.

"When we get to the Citadel, we can talk about what to do with you guys. You are not like the younger kids, I understand that, and I respect that you want to feel like you're doing something. Please, will you just go with the rest of the academy, and then we can see?"

"Alright," Vera said on behalf of the class. "We will come to the Citadel with the rest, but we refuse to simply sit on our asses while the reapers take over the galaxy."

"Fair enough," Sanders said, "as long as you will go to the Citadel."

"We will," Prangley agreed.

"Good. The evacuation starts tonight. We are moving the artistic departments first, then the science departments. Ascension and the combat engineers are last and this is a logistical nightmare, so it might be a couple of days before we can actually get you guys on a shuttle."

"What are we supposed to do then? Classes are canceled, right?" Vera asked.

"Of course," Sanders answered. "You are free to do as you wish, but please make sure that you can be ready to leave in a moment's notice. You are allowed to bring one bag of personal items with you to the Citadel, and I think that it would be best, if you packed that bag immediately. As a personal favor to me, please don't do anything to cause panic amongst the younger Ascension students. Some of them are pretty upset. Maybe you could talk to them. I think they will say stuff to you, that they don't want to talk with us old people about."

"Kurt and I will go and talk to them tonight," Vera volunteered herself and her friend.

"Excellent! Thank you Rodriguez and Nielsen," Sanders said and stepped towards the door. "The rest of you, pack your things and stay out of trouble."

"Aye, ma'am," the students chorused.

"I have a lot to do," the head director announced. "Jack, would you please join me in my office."

"Sure," Jack said and gave Charles a quick kiss before getting to her feet.

Charles watched her appreciatively as she followed the lieutenant out of the classroom.

-X-X-X-

"Have a seat, Jack," Kahlee said when she entered her office followed by Jack.

Jack complied and dropped into one of the head director's guest chairs.

Kahlee walked around the desk and sat down in her own chair, rubbing her temples.

"Fucking crazy day, huh?" Jack said. She was glad that she wasn't the one in charge.

The older woman nodded tiredly. "And it's not even noon yet."

For a while, Kahlee simply continued to massage her temples with her eyes closed, and Jack was starting to wonder why she had asked her to come. Maybe she just didn't want to be alone.

"You have to talk them out of it, Jack," she finally said.

"What?"

"You have to talk them out of wanting to fight."

Jack let out a little laugh. "I'm sorry Kahlee, but I agree with the kids on this one. If they want to fight the reapers, who are we to tell them no? In fact, I was planning to go with them!"

"I thought as much," the lieutenant said with a sigh. "But Jack… You have to be smart about this!"

"Hah," Jack snorted. "Being smart about it didn't work half the time when I was with Shepard. Sometimes we just had to go balls out and confront the collectors in a straight up fight."

"I see," Kahlee said, "but that's not the same. Wouldn't you agree that the reapers are likely to be an even tougher enemy?"

Jack nodded and Kahlee continued.

"And you guys were like a small army. I mean, there were the Cerberus people. Say what you want about the Illusive Man, but he usually trains his people well. Then there were you and as far as I've heard there were super soldiers of every race. I even heard a rumor about a geth and a krogan baby."

Jack had to admit, that Kahlee's argument was making sense. Comparing Shepard's team with any other team in the galaxy was hardly fair, and she felt the pride in her stomach. She had been a part of that team.

"There were a geth and a krogan," Jack simply answered. "Legion and Grunt."

"Do you honestly think the kids are ready to fight the reapers, Jack?"

"They are strong," Jack said, "but more importantly, they are pissed off!"

"But would you really feel confident about going to war with them right now?" Kahlee demanded to know.

"No," Jack admitted in a low voice and hung her head. It almost felt like she was betraying them. "They'd get killed."

"This is why we have to talk them into following the Alliance's directions."

"It's not fair," Jack quietly muttered. "Anyone should be allowed to fight, when their friends are in danger."

"I agree," Kahlee said, "but my conscience couldn't bear sending those kids to war, when I know they wont survive. Could yours?"

Jack thought about that for a second. But there wasn't really any doubt in her mind.

"No," she whispered.

If any one of her students were killed, because she had gone to war with them against better judgment, she would never be able to forgive herself.

The two women shared a moment's silence, but then Kahlee quickly rose from her chair. "I have an idea," she declared. "What about if we continue the Ascension Project, do you think you could get the kids in fighting shape with a little more training?"

"Sure," Jack said. "Depending on how much time I have, of course. But how?"

"I'll worry about that," Kahlee said, clearly excited. "But I need to go and talk with management. Do you think the kids would agree to postpone their quest for vengeance against the reapers, if we promised them some more training?"

"If not, I'll talk some sense into them."

"Brilliant," Kahlee said and stepped towards the door. "I'll talk to Captain Vejovic and management, and then we'll talk to the students. There's no need to get their hopes up, if what I'm planning is impossible."

"Wait!" Jack said, just as Kahlee was about to exit her office. "Shouldn't you tell all the basics students about the evacuation?"

"Oh," Kahlee said, "I completely forgot about them. You can do that!"

"What the fuck have you been snorting, Kahlee?" Jack huffed. "There's going to be crying children all over the place. I can't handle that shit!"

"Take Rodriguez with you!" Kahlee shouted over her shoulder and continued out into the hallway. "She's great with the kids."

And with those words, the head director was gone.

"Fuck!" Jack said to herself and walked back to the classroom, where Magnus was waiting for her along with Nielsen and Rodriguez.

"You three are coming with me," she announced and pointed at the door.

Without hesitation, they got up and followed her back out to the hallway.

"Kahl… Ehmm.. Lieutenant Sanders asked me to inform the basics students and their instructors about the evacuation," Jack explained. "I'd rather say this once, than going from classroom to classroom repeating the message, so I want you to get them to assemble in the gym."

The three students nodded and started to go through the classrooms, asking the younger students and their instructors to go to the gym. Jack herself stepped into the classroom of the oldest basics students. There were seven students around the age of sixteen or seventeen and an older instructor, Mr. Nobb. Kahlee had told her about them. As soon as they all turned eighteen, the head director was going to offer them a spot in the advanced class, which Mr. Nobb would teach.

Jack didn't know any of the students' names, though they all knew perfectly well who she was.

"Hi," she said and gave them an awkward wave. "Please come with me to the gym, I have some information for you."

They all followed her obediently to the gym, where Magnus, Nielsen and Rodriguez had managed to gather the rest of the department. With the entire Ascension project minus Sanders, Prangley and the Bellarmines assembled, the gym was rather crowded. Jack stepped to the center of the room and a circle formed around her.

"The alliance has come up with a plan," she started. So far, nobody was crying, but it was still uncomfortable. She wasn't used to speaking in front of crowds. This felt exactly like the first couple of times where she had to stand in front of just her own students. "They are evacuating the academy, and we're all going to the Citadel. Ascension Project will go last, which should give you a couple of days to decide what to bring. You may bring one bag each."

She paused, waiting for somebody to cry or yell at her. I didn't happen.

"When can I see my parents again?" one of the youngest students, a little girl with huge glistening eyes, asked. The vulnerability in her fragile voice was much, much worse than if she had just been crying, and Jack silently cursed herself. Sometimes, she was sure that everything would have been easier, if she was still as cold and cynical as she used to be.

"Where are your parents?" Jack asked.

"New Mexico," the girl said. The tears were now flowing silently down her cheeks. She already knew, that having her parents on Earth wasn't a good situation at all.

"I don't know," Jack said honestly. "But the Alliance will do what they can to reunite you with your families."

Another little girl started crying, and she wasn't as quiet as the first one had been. Her wailing seemed to set off an avalanche of tears in the gym, and Nielsen, Rodriguez and Magnus had their hands full with trying to comfort the many crying children.

"Any questions?" Jack asked. She just wanted to get out of there. She couldn't stand the sound of people crying, and she silently cursed Kahlee for giving her this job.

Thankfully, there were no questions and the other instructors slowly started herding their students, many of whom were still crying, back to their own classrooms to talk things over.

"I need a drink," Jack announced when it was just her and her own three students.

"Me too," said Nielsen and tried to wipe the drool of several crying children off his uniform.

"Where are the others?" Jack asked, wondering where Prangley and the Bellarmines could have gone.

"Prangley's with his girlfriend Sophia," Rodriguez said in a sad tone. "Her parents live in Naples, and she's really scared."

"Right. And the twins?"

"They heard a rumor, that comm channels for their home planet were still active, so they went to the comm room to see if they could reach their parents," Nielsen explained. "They'll probably be standing in line there half the night."

"Let's hope they reach their parents," Vera said.

"What about the two of you?" Magnus asked his two classmates. "Heard anything from Terra Nova?"

"Nope," Nielsen said quietly. "We're hoping no news is good news."

Internally, Jack felt that no news was probably bad news, but she didn't feel like sharing that with Nielsen and Rodriguez, who both had friends and their closest family on Terra Nova.

"Why don't you go and stand in line at the comm room too?" Jack suggested. "Thank you for helping me with the kids."

"You're welcome, ma'am," Rodriguez said and looked at her friend and fellow Terra Novian. "Should we make a call home, Kurt?"

Nielsen nodded and the two of them hurried out of the gym, leaving Charles and Jack standing behind alone.

"Your uniform's wet," Jack noted.

"Mhmm… Tears," he said and rubbed the spot where his red uniform was darker than usual.

"You'd wish you could call your parents too, wouldn't you?" Jack asked after a moment's silence.

"Yes… Yes, I'd wish that."

"I'm sorry," Jack said, trying her best to be as supportive as possible. It was not something she had had a lot of practice with.

"Don't say that," he said and gave her a courageous smile. "As far as I know, my parents are still alive."

"You're so brave," Jack said and kissed his cheek. "Would you like to go in the bathtub?"

Magnus laughed. "Really? With everything that's going on, you want to go and have sex in the tub? Is that just your solution to every problem?"

"Who said anything about sex? That's just your dirty mind at work! I was actually just offering the bathtub to you, because that's what I do, when I need to think. I soak in the tub for an hour or two."

"I see," Magnus said. "I think I'd like that."

"Let's go then," Jack said and led the way out of the gym.

"I think I'll go and pack my things first," Magnus said as they walked down Ascension Hall. "I better be ready when the time comes. I'll come by later and take you up on that bathtub offer though."

"Good idea," Jack said and glanced up and down the hallway before kissing him goodbye. "I should go pack my stuff too."

-X-X-X-

It was getting late in the evening, and Jack was at her desk, looking through some pictures on a data-pad. The first was of herself, at a very young age, proudly displaying a brand new tattoo. It was one of her first, which meant that she could see all the scars in the picture. All those horrible scars, which were now covered by ink. Her head was bald, which meant that she had just escaped the Teltin facility.

She quickly swiped her finger across the data-pad and the next picture appeared. This one was a few years and many, many tattoos later. Her hair had grown out quite a bit and she had dyed it green. Her teeth were gritted while she was arm wrestling a gigantic krogan mercenary. Behind them, her batarian associate Dreycx were taking bets on the match. Later on, she had beaten the krogan, and Dreycx had won a fortune. Even later on, Jack had killed him in his sleep and taken his share of the money for herself. She didn't feel too bad about that though, Dreycx was a bit of an asshole and a lousy fuck.

In the next picture, her hair was even longer and she had changed the color. It was blue. This picture was from a brief flirt with the Blue Suns organization.

The next picture was of her in a black robe. Her head was shaven again. This was from the cult days. Jack didn't remember much from that time. The cult wasn't about much else than sex and drugs, which probably explained Jack's lack of memory.

The next couple of pictures were all from Joker's personal collection (not the pornographic one) and they portrayed her first days aboard the Normandy. In the first one, she was standing with Miranda and Jacob, scowling at the Cerberus personnel, as if they were giant, nasty spiders. In the next, she was lying unconscious on one of the operating tables in the med-bay. She had been knocked out cold by a husk on one of the missions, and apparently Joker had taken advantage of the situation and snuck in to take a picture of her while she was asleep. 'That crippled little fucker,' Jack thought, but laughed to herself and realized that she actually kind of missed the sarcastic helmsman. The last picture was a rare picture of Jack laughing. The reason for her laughter was in the foreground of the picture: Kelly Chambers trying to teach Legion, Grunt, Garrus and Professor Solus to do the Macarena. The latter actually did surprisingly well, but the rest failed so hard that Jack couldn't maintain her sour face.

She put down the data-pad and laughed a little. She could still remember how stupid Grunt looked while trying to perform the simplest dance moves in the history of mankind. The krogan however, didn't appreciate being laughed at, and he had smashed his head against the bulkhead and retreated to the port cargo area in rage.

Still smiling, Jack rose from the table and went to open her door, when the doorbell rang.

"What are you smiling about?" Kahlee said as she came into view.

"Memories," was Jack's simple reply.

The two women sat down on opposite sides of Jack's desk.

"What's up?" Jack asked curiously. She was incredibly excited to hear about the head director's plan.

"I talked to Vejovic and the management," Kahlee said. "They told me that Arthur Froeberg is staying here with a few of his students."

"Who the fuck is Arthur Froeberg?"

"He's one of the smartest humans alive," Kahlee patiently explained. "He and his students are prototyping tech for the alliance. His students are all over eighteen, their research is extremely valuable and it can't be performed anywhere else, so they have been allowed to stay here at the academy, while the rest of us are off to the Citadel."

"Good for them," Jack said dryly. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because," Kahlee said with a hint of a smile. "We have been allowed to do the same thing! If the advanced level students want to, they can stay here and continue their education."

Just as Kahlee finished her sentence, the door to Jack's personal quarters slid open and Magnus stepped into the office. He had just finished his bath and was holding a tiny towel around his midsection. Other than that, he was completely naked.

"Oh, shit!" he said when he saw, that Jack wasn't alone. "Fuck!"

"My words exactly," Kahlee said and held her hands in front of her eyes. "Would you please put on some clothes, Mr. Magnus?"

"Yes, ma'am," he said and disappeared back into Jack's room.

"I'm sorry," Jack said to Kahlee, fighting hard not to laugh. "I completely forgot he was using my bathtub."

"Jeez, Jack," Sanders gasped. "He could've been completely naked. That would have been horrible!"

"Is my boyfriend _that_ unattractive to you?" Jack snickered.

"No!" Sanders said, but then she shook her head, like she was trying to remove the memory of what she had just seen. "What I meant to say was… That I'm old enough to be his mother. It's not appropriate for me to see him like that."

Jack laughed. She loved making the head director so flustered. Usually, she could provoke her by kissing or touching Magnus right in front of her, but having him walk into the room naked (except for the teeny-tiny towel around his private parts) worked even better. It had been an accident of course, she really had forgotten that Magnus was in her bathtub when Kahlee showed up, but it was stilly funny as hell.

She wouldn't have found it funny if Magnus had done the same thing with any other woman in the room though. It was just because it made the head director so incredibly uncomfortable. Had it been Rodriguez for example, Jack wouldn't have liked it one bit. It was no secret that Rodriguez went completely apeshit over men with muscles, and though Magnus wasn't exactly built like Prangley, he was actually pretty toned. Or at least Jack thought so. Thinking about it, she decided to keep an eye on Rodriguez. That girl was nauseatingly sweet, had a great rack and was entirely too gorgeous to be spending so much time with Magnus.

She returned her attention to the woman in front of her. Kahlee kept glancing at the door. Like she was afraid that it would open again and Magnus would come back out, this time, completely naked.

Though that would have been fun, Jack knew it would never happen. Magnus was probably feeling even worse about it than Kahlee was.

Eventually, the door opened, and Magnus stepped into the office, fully uniformed and terribly red-faced.

"I'm sorry," he muttered. "I didn't realize anyone was in here."

Kahlee didn't say anything, she just pointed at a chair and Magnus took a seat.

"We're staying here," Jack said to him. "We can continue our training, even intensify it, and when we're ready, we'll fuck up the reapers."

"Really?" Magnus said, turning to Kahlee.

She nodded. "The rest of the station will still be evacuated, but if you guys really want to fight, you'll need more training, and there's no better place to give that to you. Both Jack and I would stay here along with Froeberg and a few of his students, who are developing tech for the alliance."

Magnus thought about that for a few seconds. "I can't speak for all six of us, but I'm definitely in!"

"Excellent," said Kahlee. Jack smirked at her, noticing how she purposefully avoided eye contact with the student. "I… I'll just go to the others and ask them what they think."

"Good night, boss," Jack called after her.

"Good night, ma'am," Magnus contributed.

"You two should get some _sleep_," Kahlee said, putting emphasis on sleep. "Good night."

"She obviously doesn't know me very well," Jack said as soon as the head director had left her office and started ripping off the clothes that he had just put on. "You smell nice by the way."

Magnus laughed and stretched his arms to allow her to pull his t-shirt over his head. "I was just in your bathtub for two full hours. If that doesn't make me smell at least a little flowery, I don't think anything will."

"Did it help?" Jack asked curiously.

"Yes," Magnus said and allowed her to rub her hands all over his chest. "Not that I've stopped worrying about my parents, but it was nice to have some time… to myself."

"Told you so," Jack whispered while softly tugging at his earlobe with her teeth. "Thanks for flashing yourself to Sanders. Her face when you walked in was priceless!"

"Yeah," Magnus said and coughed. "That wasn't on purpose."

"I know. But it was pretty fucking funny."

* * *

_A/N:_

_Reaper invasion, motherfuckers! ;)_

_This should give you an idea of where we are in the mass effect timeline._

_I would like to thank everyone who has reviewed so far. You have been very helpful and your insight is greatly appreciated._

_If you send me a review and I don't reply, you may call me an ungrateful son of a bitch._

_I have exams coming up, so I'm not quite sure when my next update will be._

_Make sure to let me know what you think, or take the chance to ask questions. I am more than happy to answer._

_You guys rock my world!_

_- Simon_


	25. Empty

Chapter Twenty-Five - Empty

Orion Hall was unusually quiet now that more than half of Grissom Academy's students had been evacuated. All the artistic students, the painters, musicians and other young humans with extraordinary creative talent were already gone, and the Alliance had begun evacuating other departments. This morning, it was the students of interstellar economy along with those studying social studies.

Charles had to give it to the Alliance; the evacuation of the space station was progressing surprisingly smoothly. The advanced level students of the Ascension Project were eating their breakfast with their head director, Jack and Sophia. Around them, at the other tables, students of the remaining departments, mainly the scientific departments, were scattered. Even this early in the morning, Orion Hall was usually teeming with life, but this morning it was uncomfortably quiet and the faces of the students were either blank and expressionless or red and puffy from all the crying that had gone on.

With heavy steps, the students whose departments had been called to the shuttle docks for evacuation walked through Orion Hall. All of them were carrying bags with their most treasured belongings. Some of them would make a quick stop at one of the tables to say an emotional goodbye to their friends from other departments that had yet to be evacuated.

"I'll see you guys at the Citadel," a young man around Charles' age solemnly said to the Bellarmines and gave them a quick hug before leaving in direction of the shuttle dock.

"Yeah, see you, Bobby," Reiley said and waved.

Charles knew that the both he and Seanne had agreed to stay at Grissom Academy instead of going to the Citadel, which meant that they probably wouldn't be seeing their friend Bobby again anytime soon, but Prangley hadn't told Sophia about his decision to stay yet, and he had asked all of them to please keep it a secret until he could tell her himself.

"The basic level students have been moved up the list," Lieutenant Sanders told them. "They'll be leaving as soon as they can get a shuttle."

"Some of them are so scared," Vera sobbed. "And the newest ones only just arrived."

"We should go and check on them," Kurt said, "and you know… say goodbye."

"Right," Charles agreed and stood up, "I'm not hungry anyway."

"Oh, you guys!" Sanders sobbed and stroked Vera's cheek in a loving motherly fashion. "I am so proud of you all. Taking care of the kids…"

The head director had tears streaming down her cheeks, but her eyes were burning with pride. Jack patted her on the back as the two of the rose from the table as well.

"I'll go to my own department," Sophia said, leaning against Prangley who had his arm around her. "Lichelle and I should see if there's anything we can do for the younger engineers as well."

"I'll see you in a bit, babe," Prangley said and kissed her temple before she left towards a table of other green-clad students.

"Still haven't told her we're staying?" Seanne quietly asked.

"No," Prangley said and hung his head. "I just don't know how to… how to say it, you know."

"You should tell her, Jason," Sanders said. "Soon."

"I know," Prangley muttered. "I'm just so… so scared. What if she'll hate me for staying?"

"She won't!" Vera said confidently. "She loves you more than you know."

"Really?" a sad smile was starting to form on his lips.

"I'm not saying she won't be upset," Vera said. "But she will not stop loving you."

"I'll tell her when we've helped the kids then," Prangley said.

"Good," Sanders said and started leading them towards the Ascension Hall, where the basic level students were gathered for breakfast and baggage checking in the gym.

When Charles entered the gym, he was immediately jumped by Sarah and Yaroslav, two of the youngest biotics. They were both crying their eyes out and squeezing him around his thighs and his waist, begging for him and the other advanced level students to come with them to the Citadel. Apparently, they had been informed about their decision to stay. Charles honestly didn't know how to respond to that. He hadn't expected them to feel that strongly about him or any of his classmates. Panicking slightly, he looked to Vera, silently pleading for her to do something.

Luckily, Vera was a natural in dealing with children, and she calmly got down on one knee. "Hey there," she said happily.

Immediately, the two children turned their attention to Vera and started hugging her instead.

Not feeling qualified to dealing with the children, Charles followed Prangley past the youngest to the back where some of the older basic level students were taking their frustrations out on the punching bags.

"You need to focus a bit more if you want to punch a hole in that thing, Solberg," Prangley told a red-faced young man who was angrily pounding his fists against the giant bag.

"It's not fair!" Solberg groaned as he jabbed the bag again, not even trying to put his biotic powers into the punches. "Why do you get to stay and fight while the rest of us are being hidden away at the Citadel."

"I guess you're too young," Prangley shrugged.

"Too young?!" Solberg angrily hissed and spun around to face Prangley and Charles. He was obviously upset. "I'm just one year younger than you two, aren't I?"

"Yes," Prangley said patiently. "But we don't make the rules. You can't stay if you're under eightee.."

"And he," Solberg interrupted and pointed to Charles. "…He doesn't even have any powers, but he gets to fucking stay! How is that fair?"

Charles and Prangley both glared at him.

Solberg breathed a sigh. "I'm sorry," he said, making eye contact with Charles. "That was completely uncalled for."

"Don't worry about it," Charles said. He could easily understand, that Solberg was only saying those things, because he wanted to continue his training as well. Charles could sympathize with that. "I'm sorry that you have to leave with the rest of the department, but Prangley is right; we don't make the rules."

"I know," Solberg said and hung his head in shame. "I just want to feel like I'm doing something. Many of the others feel the same way. You know, we were going to sign up for advanced class in a few months' time anyway."

A redheaded girl, presumably one of Solberg's classmates, nodded eagerly.

"You're preaching to the choir, Solberg," Prangley said patiently. "Personally, I don't see why you guys shouldn't be allowed to stay. But again, it's not my decision."

"Lieutenant Sanders already told us no," the ginger girl said in a defeated tone.

"There you go," Prangley said with a wry smile. "If mommy says no, you shouldn't go and ask daddy! Mommy has the power anyway."

Charles laughed. "Yeah! Certainly in this case where mommy is the head director of the department, whilst 'daddy' is just another student."

Solberg and his classmates' moods lightened a bit and they didn't bother them with complaints of unfair treatment after that. Instead, Prangley offered to show them how to perform a powerful biotic punch. Whilst Prangley was teaching, or rather showing off his powers to the oldest of the basic level students, Charles decided to head back to the younger students to help them structure their luggage.

"Wait, Magnus!" a small voice called after him, just as he was about to offer his assistance to a couple of young boys who were obviously struggling with fitting all their belongings into their bags.

Charles turned around to see a girl running up to him. She was very pretty, but she didn't look much older than fifteen or sixteen. "Hey," he said and gave her a reassuring smile, expecting her to be just another scared student. He did wonder how she knew his name though. He certainly didn't know hers.

"I need to talk to you," the girl said and pointed to a corner of the gym where they would be able to talk undisturbed.

"Okay…" Charles hesitantly said and followed her to the area where all the treadmills were.

He took a seat on one of the treadmills and motioned for her to sit on the one across from him. She did.

When the girl didn't start speaking, Charles figured that she was probably either to nervous or scared, so he decided to get the conversation going.

"What's your name?" he asked, trying to get her to open up. He didn't want to offer her a therapy session, but he still felt some responsibility for the mental wellbeing of the younger students in his department.

"Sabrina van der Westhuizen," she answered.

"Hi Sabrina, I'm Charles."

"I know," Sabrina said and planted her hand on Charles' thigh, which he thought was somewhat strange.

Thinking that Sabrina was just a little special or maybe stressed out by the evacuation, Charles decided not to pay attention to her hand, which was squeezing his thigh. It was hard though.

"How come you know who I am?" he asked.

"Honestly?" Sabrina said and moved her hand further up his thigh, "I think I'm in love with you, Charles."

Suddenly the pieces came together in his head. Just in time to stop Sabrina from putting her hand on his groin. Politely but firmly he removed her hand from his privates. He knew how jealous Jack could get, and if she saw him being fondled by this girl, Grissom Academy could very well be experiencing a double homicide committed by a teacher in its closing days.

Charles was a little shocked by Sabrina's forwardness, but he didn't want to make a big scene out of it. He was also impressed with her courage; he would certainly never have been able to do what she just did. Declaring your love for a senior student took guts, and he admired that. Also, he couldn't help but feel a little flattered; before coming to the academy, he had never received any female attention of that sort.

"Listen Sabrina," Charles sighed. "I'm flattered. I really am. But I actually have a girlfriend."

"But…" Sabrina said, looking very surprised and a little heartbroken. "I've never seen you with anyone."

"We're sort of keeping it a secret," Charles told her.

"You must be good at keeping secrets then, 'cause I have been watching you closely," Sabrina whispered.

Charles laughed nervously. Sabrina didn't seem like a crazy stalker or anything like that, but she certainly had a massive crush on him, that was for sure. Again, he couldn't help but feeling a little happy about the attention he was receiving.

"You know…" Sabrina thoughtfully said after a little while. "If you've been able to hide this girlfriend of yours from me, then maybe you and I could go out without her finding out."

Charles snickered. "Trust me; you don't want to take that chance. My girlfriend is… hmmm… a little unpredictable. And besides, I love her very much. I would never do that to her."

"Oh, come on, Charles!" Sabrina moaned and moved her hand back to his thigh and started rubbing closer and closer to his groin. "I promise you, it will be worth the risk."

Charles removed her hand again, a little more firmly this time. "I'm sorry, Sabrina. You seem really nice and you are very pretty, but I am spoken for."

Sabrina hung her head as Charles walked away. He didn't feel good about rejecting her, when she had shown the courage to reveal her feelings towards him, but there was just no way he would even think about betraying Jack. Not because he was scared of her, but because he loved her.

"Who was that?" Jack asked as he returned to the others.

"Some girl named Sabrina," Charles said, trying to sound as indifferent as possible. Sabrina would be gone in a couple of hours, and he didn't see any reason for Jack to get worked up over nothing.

"What did she want?" Jack demanded to know, keeping an eye on the girl who was still sat by herself on a treadmill.

"Oh, nothing really," Charles said with a shrug. "She was just a little nervous, so I tried to cheer her up."

"You didn't do a very good job," Jack noted dryly. "She looks a lot sadder now than before you talked to her."

Charles didn't answer that, instead he began helping Yaroslav with the straps on his rucksack.

"It's time!" Mr. Nobb, one of the basic level instructors, announced. "Grab your gear and follow me!"

Charles and his classmates helped the younger students with their bags as they started to move out through the door and out into Ascension Hall. He took a look around and realized that, for the first time in his time at Grissom Academy, the entire Ascension Project was together. Ironically, this would also be the last time.

-X-X-X-

Jack was helping some kids with their luggage when she looked up and saw Prangley teaching biotic punches to some basic level students. She felt a surge of pride and smiled at Magnus who was making his way back to her and the others.

Suddenly, he stopped and turned around to talk to a girl who approached him. She was pretty and unlike most of the other students, she was smiling. She pointed to the far corner of the gym and Charles followed her there and sat down on a treadmill across from her. At this point, Jack had completely forgotten about the kid she was supposed to assist.

"Are you okay, Jack?" Rodriguez asked.

"Yeah," Jack said and took the chance to have a talk with her female student. She had wanted to do that for some time now. In her head, Rodriguez and Magnus were spending far too much time in each other's company. It was time to get the cards on the table.

"What's the deal with you and Magnus?" she hissed, just loud enough for only Rodriguez to hear.

"What?" Rodriguez said. "What do you mean?"

"You want him, don't you?" Jack accused. "You would love to have him for yourself, wouldn't you? Didn't want him before, but now that he's with me, he's interesting all of a sudden!"

"What are you talking about, Jack?" Vera whispered, sounding like she was about to cry. "There's nothing going on between Charles and me."

Jack felt bad for making her student cry, but Rodriguez's closeness to Magnus had been bugging her for quite some time. She knew she was being jealous, but Jack had really opened up to Charles in a way she had never done to anyone before, which meant that she just couldn't stand the thought of him with other women.

Personally, she liked Rodriguez very much, but she was just way too attractive to be as friendly towards Jack's boyfriend as she was.

"I've seen you looking at him!" Jack snarled.

"He's my friend," Rodriguez sobbed. The tears were streaming down her cheeks. "That's all. I swear, Jack."

"You better stay away, Rodriguez!" Jack warned her and turned her attention back to Magnus, who was still in conversation with the bitch from basics.

She kept a very close eye on the two of them, but sadly, she couldn't see much. Behind Jack, Rodriguez had dried her eyes and moved further away from her. She was still helping out the kids though.

Again, Jack felt bad about hurting one of her best students, but she just needed to get her away from Magnus. The younger, pretty biotic was simply too big a threat.

-X-X-X-

Charles and his classmates had been lined up at the shuttle docks and they were shaking hands with all their fellow Ascension Project students, as they slowly filed into the awaiting shuttles.

Shaking Sabrina van der Westhuizen's hand had been a little awkward. She had tried to pull him into a hug, but since Jack had already noticed that something was up with Sabrina, Charles had politely kept his distance.

"Will you be safe?" Yaroslav asked when it was his turn to say goodbye.

"Yes," Charles said and gave him a reassuring smile. "But I need you to look out for Sarah and the others. Can you do that for me?"

Yaroslav nodded with a determined look on his face and ran to his classmates.

"You're great with the kids," Kurt said and clapped Charles on the back.

He shrugged. "I just know that I'd worry less if I felt like I had a purpose."

"Who's that Jack is talking to?" Kurt asked and pointed to the group of Ascension students waiting to board a shuttle.

Charles looked over there and saw Jack in a heated discussion with Sabrina.

"Shit," he said. "That's Sabrina van der Westhuizen."

"Who? And why does Jack look so angry?" Kurt asked in confusion.

"She just told me earlier today that she likes me," Charles sighed.

Kurt laughed. "And now Jack is telling her off?"

Charles however did not laugh. "It's not even funny, mate. She gets really upset about these things."

"Clearly," Kurt said and nodded at Jack and Sabrina. The girl was crying as Jack turned away and stomped out of the room.

Vera came over. Apparently, she too had seen Jack storm off in direction of Ascension Hall.

"You have to talk to her, Charles," Vera said.

"Why?" Charles asked. "Sabrina is leaving now. Everything will be back to normal tomorrow."

Vera breathed a deep sigh. "No, it won't."

"What do you mean?"

"Earlier today, Jack asked me to stay away from you. She would probably kill me if she could see us now," Vera sad in a sad tone of voice.

"What?!" Charles shouted. "Does she think that you… and I?"

"Apparently," Vera sobbed and started to cry against Kurt's shoulder.

"You're right," Charles said. "I should talk to her. It's not fair of her to treat you like this."

"Take care," Kurt said worriedly as Charles left them to go and find Jack. They all knew Jack's temper and biotic power, so talking to her while she was upset wasn't without risks.

As he walked towards Jack's office, he tried to calm himself down, but he only managed to upset himself more and more. He had known that she was easily jealous, but he hadn't talked to her about it. Maybe, if he had, this whole thing could have been avoided. Some of it was his own fault, but he could feel within himself, that he was actually angry with Jack. She had no reason to threaten Vera, and even though Sabrina had been a little handsy, Charles didn't think that she deserved Jack's rage. After all, nothing had happened.

He was also disappointed and a little hurt that Jack didn't think more of him. It stung that, apparently, she wasn't convinced that he would stay true to her.

When he finally arrived at Jack's office door, he was fuming with built-up rage, which was very much unlike him. Angrily, he tapped the panel, activating the doorbell. When nothing happened within the first second, he quickly slapped it three more times.

Suddenly, the door opened and there she stood. If he was angry, it was nothing compared to what he found it Jack's dark eyes. She was positively furious.

"WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!?" both of them shouted at the same time.

"You should go and apologize to Vera!" Charles yelled, "right now!"

"Fuck you!" Jack spat. "You lying, cheating son of a bitch!"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Charles screamed, bravely taking a step closer.

"I'm talking about that little whore of yours. Sabrina or whatever the fuck her name is! She said she loves you!"

"How the hell is that my fault?" Charles roared.

"You told me she was nervous about leaving, you lying fuck!" Jack yelled and pushed him in the chest. She put quite a bit of her biotic power into it, and Charles stumbled back into the hallway until his back met the opposite wall.

"Of course I did," Charles shouted and stepped right back up in her face again. "Look at how you're taking it!"

"Oh fuck off, why don't you?" Jack snarled, turned around and marched from her office into her bedroom.

"Will you apologize to Vera?" Charles asked, following her into the bedroom. "She's not even involved in this, but you really hurt her!"

"No!" Jack shouted. "Fuck off, I said!"

Jack's biotic aura sparkled and she pushed him in the chest again, clearly expecting him to be sent flying ass first out of her bedroom. To both her and his surprise, that didn't happen. Instead, Charles' entire body flashed blue and Jack was tossed across the room and landed on her bed.

"What the fuck!" she hissed and jumped to her feet, but Charles just pushed her back down.

Quickly, he bent down over her and locked her arms with his hands. Impulsively, without really realizing what he was doing, he leaned down and gave her a kiss. Not gently and softly as usual, but forcefully and angrily.

Jack looked at him in confusion, but then she started to return his kiss, very aggressively.

Groaning against her lips, Charles let go of her arms, which Jack immediately reacted to by biotically throwing him up into the air and rolling off the bed before he came back down, landing on his back on the bed with a loud gasp.

"Rargh!" Jack roared and jumped on top of him, pinning his arms down with her knees. She gave him a hard slap across the face. It wasn't a full blown punch, but it was enough to make Charles' ears ring, and he had to shake his head to regain his bearings. Meanwhile, Jack had begun unzipping his uniform. As soon as she had removed all the clothes from his torso, she started working on the pants, but as soon as Charles regained control of his arms, he rolled her off of him and literally ripped her clothes off.

Jack tried to slap him once more, but this time he dodged and instead he slapped her ass cheek so hard that it left a red silhouette of his hand between the tattoos.

"Hnngghh," Jack groaned and jumped up and wrapped her arms around his shoulders and her legs around his waist while kissing him forcefully.

Charles stumbled around the bedroom with Jack clinging to him. Purposely, he slammed her against several walls and bookshelves. He even ran her into a mirror a few times, which cracked and gave Jack a few minor cuts down her backside. In response, she dug her nails into his shoulders, actually drawing blood.

Charles bodily threw her back onto the bed and Jack spread her legs. As she lay there, panting, he saw that she was wetter than he had ever seen her before. In a haze of lust and rage he made quick work of his own pants before jumping on top of her.

Not giving a shit about gentle entrance, he slammed into her with a powerful thrust.

"Shit!" Jack screamed.

Charles continued to thrust his entire length into Jack, and every time he plunged into her wet center she would scream louder.

"Fuck! Fuck! Shit! Ah! Ah! Yeah! You! Cheating! Bastard!"

Charles roared and grabbed her thighs so tightly that his knuckles turned white while the skin beneath Jack's tattoos reddened. "I haven't cheated!" he shouted angrily and squeezed her thighs while fucking her even harder. In a complete trance, he had lost all control of what was happening.

Again and again, Charles pounded her until she was shivering from top to toe, completely lost in her orgasms. Even as he felt her tighten around his cock, Charles didn't stop. Mercilessly, he continued to fuck her, harder and harder, making Jack scream and writhe until the words she was saying stopped making sense. It was like she was speaking in tongues; she was so far gone in her orgasms.

With one final thrust, Charles released his juices inside of her, before collapsing from both mental and physical exhaustion.

For almost an hour, both of them just lay there on linens soaked with all sorts of body fluids: His and her juices, sweat and quite a bit of blood. It was a mess. At first, Charles had to spend the first couple of minutes just to regain his breath. After that he realized what had just happened. It had been such a strange experience. It was like someone had taken control of his body and directed him to do what he had done to Jack. Now she was lying with her head on his chest, softly playing with nipple.

"What the hell was that?"

"That was so fucking hot!" Jack replied, and Charles realized that he had said it out loud.

"But…" Charles said confused. He hadn't actually meant to do any of all those things to Jack, but his body had just sort of done it on its own. "But I was so angry with you."

"And I was pissed off at you," Jack said, squeezing his nipple between her nails.

"Ouch! But why the sex then?"

"You started it," Jack pointed out. "Not that I'm complaining. Angry sex was awesome!"

"It was completely insane," Charles said and looked down at a sore spot on his arm. "Hey, did you bite me at some point during all that?" he asked and pointed to some tooth marks on his bicep.

"Yup," Jack said, "but you shouldn't complain. I won't be able to sit properly in weeks after the spanking you gave me."

"I'm sorry," Charles said and blushed.

"Hah, you were really in a trance, huh?" Jack laughed at how different he was behaving now that he wasn't angry any longer. He was back to his shy old self. "I must really have pissed you off. You even used your biotics at one point. Involuntarily, of course."

"Hmmm," Charles hummed thoughtfully. The sex had been amazing, but they hadn't really reached any sort of conclusion to their fight.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you the truth about Sabrina," Charles whispered in Jack's ear, deciding to take the first step towards peace, well, the second step if you counted the animalistic sex. "She actually wanted to tell me that she was in love with me, and she tried seducing me a little. I should have just told you about it."

"You should," Jack said, "but I still overreacted."

"A bit," Charles said and gave her a little squeeze.

"I'll have to buy Rodriguez a pony, won't I?"

"A pony?" Charles repeated.

"Hell, I don't know what a girly girl like her would accept as an apology gift."

"Just tell her that you're sorry," Charles suggested. "That will be enough. Maybe give her a hug."

"A hug? Really?"

"Yes," Charles sighed. "She'd love that."

"I'd rather just get her the pony then," Jack said. "But, okay…"

For a while, they just stayed in bed. Jack was playing with Charles torso, while he gave her a gentle scalp massage.

"You'll have to start trusting me at some point," Charles whispered in her ear. "You keep telling me that I'm such a boy scout and that I'm actually being too much of a gentleman. Well, boy scouts and gentlemen don't cheat on their girlfriends… So how about a little trust?"

"I'll try," Jack promised and that was all Charles wanted to hear.

Charles rose from the bed and went to find his underpants, behind him he could hear Jack snickering.

"What?" he said and turned to face her. She was still lying in bed.

"Nothing," Jack said with a grin. "It's just… You have scratch marks all over your back."

"And whose fault is that?"

"You should try to get angry with me more often," Jack said and changed the subject. "But only if you decide to 'punish' me like this every time."

"No promises," Charles said and gave her a shy smile. "I'm not angry very often, and besides, I'm not that comfortable with losing control like that."

Jack looked thoughtful. "Though I would love for you to fuck me like this more often, I think I know what you mean. I've been fighting on pure anger ever since I was just a kid, and sometimes when I've lost complete control, I ended up killing pretty much anyone in my path, and when I finally came to, I couldn't remember what I'd done. It wasn't always nice."

Charles nodded and put on the rest of his uniform. "So we're cool now?" he asked. He had never been in a fight like this before and certainly not with a girlfriend (since Jack was his first). He had no idea if he could consider their problem solved or not.

Jack looked up at him, a smile playing at the corner of her mouth. "We're cool. I'll apologize to Rodriguez if you promise to stop cheating on me."

"Damn it! I have NOT been cheating on you, Jack!" he yelled, feeling the anger rise once more.

"Ooh, you're angry again?" Jack giggled, and Charles realized that she was only joking. "You going to punish me?"

Charles laughed and took off his uniform again. Jack smiled seductively at him, clearly happy that he was up for another go.

"We might as well," Jack said. "These sheets will have to be burned anyway."

The second time was a lot less violent, but equally passionate. Jack was quite sore from the abuse he had given her, which resulted in some very tender and romantic love-making. A huge contrast to their angry fucking.

"I love you," Charles said against her lips as he gently entered her.

-X-X-X-

"Love you too," Jack purred and urged him to penetrate her a little deeper. She might have been sore, but it would take a special kind of pain for her to stop loving the feeling of Magnus' throbbing shaft in her.

To her surprise, Jack found that she was able to enjoy the gentle sex almost as much as the rough and violent sex. Almost.

She had realized that she was in the wrong about the Sabrina bitch and certainly about Rodriguez, and she had decided that she was going to apologize. Well, to Rodriguez at least. She couldn't forget about how incredibly hot it had been while Magnus savagely drilled into her, and she honestly considered finding a way to deliberately make him that angry again. If the sex was as good for him as it was for her, she was sure that she would be forgiven afterwards. It was totally worth it.

Magnus was above her, pushing himself deeper and deeper into her pussy. It all happened slowly and with little force, which Jack was actually thankful for. When she felt her walls clenching around him, she realized how sore she actually was and let out a little whimper.

"I'm sorry," Magnus said, looking terrified at just the thought of hurting her now that he wasn't angry anymore. He pulled out and awaited her reaction. He really was just the sweetest thing.

Jack grabbed the back of his neck and their eyes locked.

"It's okay," she whispered. "Just be gentle with me."

"Are you sure?" he said nervously. "We could stop."

"Magnus," Jack said patiently. "I want this… I want you."

Jack could literally see the happiness in his eyes as they continued to stare into hers. Slowly, he entered her again while rubbing circles around her clit with his thumb.

The two of them maintained eye contact, which made the whole thing infinitely more sensual and romantic. Eventually, Jack was the one to break their visual bond, when she closed her eyes and shivered from yet another orgasm. She had lost count of how many of those she had had that day. Much of the angry sex had felt like one big climax to her.

Seconds later, Magnus groaned, grabbed one of her breasts and shot the last of his sperm out on her stomach.

"Now I'm sore too," he groaned and rolled over to lie on his back beside Jack.

"Seems only fair," Jack whispered and stuck her tongue in his ear, but Magnus pulled away.

"You're going to have to stop teasing me, woman! I've got no control, and I think that one more time would hurt far too much, for both of us."

"Pussy," Jack said, playfully swatting his arm.

Magnus rolled onto his side and pushed himself up on his elbow. For a long time, he just lay there, lovingly staring at Jack. Just the way he looked at her told so much more than words ever could, and she realized how stupid she had been for suspecting him of cheating. Trust had never come easy to her, but her stay aboard the Normandy had helped a lot.

Not trusting Magnus and jealousy were remaining vices from the old Jack, and she suspected that she had felt it even stronger, because she was afraid to lose him.

It was scary how addicted to him she had become so quickly. Just the thought of him with another woman made her sick to her stomach, but as she looked down at the tattooed skin of her abdomen, she saw his glistening semen, and she knew that he was hers.

"Want to soak in the tub for a while?" Magnus asked.

"Yeah."

She felt like she really needed a bath, having both of their juices on the inside and outside, sweat all over and bloody scratches on her back from being thrown against the mirror, which now looked like a bloody mosaic. She could imagine Magnus wanting a bath as well. Besides being sweaty and covered in juices, his back had been scratched up pretty good by Jack's nails and he was bleeding from his lip after being slapped.

Jack rolled out of bed and tiptoed around data-pads, broken furniture parts, pieces of glass and clothing.

She heard a loud gasp from the bed and turned to see Magnus staring at her with horror.

"What?"

"You're bleeding," he stated and pointed to her back. "I'm so sorry." A tear rolled silently down his cheek.

"Don't be," Jack said and continued without exaggeration. "It was the best sex I've ever had. Easily worth a little blood."

He still didn't look comfortable, so Jack flicked her wrist upward and levitated him into the air. Floating him along without having to step around all the debris on the floor, she opened the bathroom door and settled him down on the tile floor.

He still looked nervously at her back, where  
blood was smeared over her tattoos, but Jack just turned on the valves and filled the large bathtub.

"Get in," she ordered and pushed him towards the water.

He gently lowered himself into the water, wincing as he submerged the scratches on his back. Jack crawled in on top of him, also wincing and hissing as the cuts on her back touched the water. She felt him shift under her, obviously still not comfortable with being the one responsible for her wounds.

To show him that he had done nothing wrong, she reached down, grabbed his wrists and placed his hands on top of her breasts. For a long time, they just stayed like that, and Jack would have thought that he had fallen asleep if he hadn't been softly kneading her breasts, but eventually, the water became too cold and Magnus started to stir beneath her.

"Your room is a mess," he stated.

"I'm not cleaning it today," Jack answered. "Tomorrow…"

"You can sleep in my room then. It's not like there are many people left to be suspicious of us. All my neighbors have already been evacuated. Actually, I think Prangley's might be the closest inhabited room to mine."

"Okay. We'll do that then. How about we find Rodriguez now? I better apologize while I can still feel the pain of how you'll punish me if I don't. Otherwise, I might forget to do it, and you will have to teach me another lesson."

"Are you in a lot of pain?" Magnus nervously asked.

"Nah. I'm just messing with you. Let's really go find Rodriguez though."

-X-X-X-

"Is it too late for lunch?" Magnus asked as they walked down the corridor.

"Hungry?" Jack said.

"Very much," he groaned and grabbed his growling stomach. Jack had to agree; none of them had eaten properly at breakfast, and now she was absolutely famished.

"Let's go then," she said and turned down a hallway that would take them to lunch – if they weren't too late.

Even though the station was almost completely depopulated by now, neither of them wanted to take any chances, so they made sure to keep a reasonable distance between each other. Jack gave Magnus a sidelong glance and noticed that his lip was still a bit swollen and there was a little spot of dried blood at the corner of his mouth. She smiled to herself, imagining how Kahlee would freak if she knew how rough they had been with each other.

As they stepped into Orion Hall, Jack initially thought that they had been too late for lunch, until she noticed a single buffet table at the far end of them room which still held food. Maybe, Jack thought, there were so few students left, that only a single table was needed.

Just a few older students sat in small groups at the round tables near the buffet. Most of them would be leaving the station later that day. This included Prangley's girlfriend Sophia, whom they found at one of the tables in deep conversation with her biotic boyfriend.

"Can we sit?" Jack asked, while Magnus was getting them some sandwiches from the buffet.

Prangley distractedly nodded and returned his attention to Sophia, while Jack took a seat.

"I must admit, I am quite excited about going to the Citadel," Sophia happily said. "I've never been there, you know."

"I know," Prangley said and gave her hand a little squeeze.

Jack watched their conversation, wondering if Prangley had already told her, that he would be staying at the academy. She guessed not, since Sophia seemed so happy. The engineer confirmed her suspicion immediately.

"You've been there loads of times. You could show me around!" Sophia gleefully squealed.

'Oh, shit!' Jack thought, regretting that she chosen that table. She could tell from Prangley's facial expression that he was finally going to tell his girlfriend the truth.

"Yeah…" Prangley stalled. "About that… There's something I have to tell you, hon'. I'm not going to the Citadel."

"What do you mean? Of course you are!" Sophia said, completely in denial.

"I'm sorry, baby. But Jack and Sanders are staying back to form a biotic combat squad. You know I have to stay."

Sophia just stared at him, gaping. Suddenly, she broke down in tears and ran from the table, loudly and painfully crying.

"Baby!" Prangley yelled and ran after her.

In that moment, Magnus came back with their food.

"He finally told her?" he guessed. Jack nodded. "Shit…"

"It can't be easy for her," Jack said. "Leaving while he stays here."

"I wouldn't be able to do it," Magnus said in a very sincere tone. "If you were staying and I had to leave… I could never do that."

A warm sensation grew in Jack's stomach as Magnus spoke. Though she sometimes thought of him as a bit too innocent and overly sweet, she had to admit that she loved his affection and devotion. She gave him an appreciative smile and accepted the sandwich he offered her.

When they were almost done with their lunch, Nielsen and Rodriguez stepped into Orion Hall, grabbed a couple of sandwiches and started looking for a table – not that it was hard to find an empty one.

Rodriguez looked at Jack and there was a moment's eye contact, before she grabbed her blond friend, pointed to another table and started dragging him away from Jack and Magnus.

Unfortunately, Magnus had seen them as well, and Jack could tell that he was wondering why they didn't want to sit with them.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"Ehm… I may have threatened Rodriguez to stay the hell away from you," Jack admitted.

Magnus sighed and shook his head, and Jack was afraid that he might fly off the handle again. It had resulted in some wonderfully crazy sex last time, but she wasn't sure if having a fight in the middle of Orion Hall was a good idea, especially because their relationship was still a secret.

"Let's go," Jack said and stood up. Magnus quickly followed.

"Rodriguez," Jack said firmly as she approached her two students.

Rodriguez jumped in her seat and fear was evident in her eyes, as Jack marched right up to her chair. The pretty, young woman cowered in her seat, clearly fearful of what Jack could do to her.

"I'm sorry!" she shrieked, diving for cover behind Nielsen, who looked both confused and scared. "I didn't even look at him, I swear!"

"Get back in your seat, Rodriguez," Jack commanded and was obeyed immediately.

Jack leaned in closer and continued in a whisper that was only audible to Rodriguez, Nielsen, Magnus and herself. "I wanted to apologize to you. I don't want you to be afraid of me; in fact, I only want to protect you. I know that there's nothing going on with you and Magnus, and it was wrong of me to accuse and threaten you. Can you forgive me?"

Even though she had changed a lot over the last couple of months, apologizing still didn't come easy to Jack. In this case though, she knew that she had to make everything alright again, not just for Rodriguez, but for herself as well. Internally and professionally, she had sworn to protect her students and because she had made that promise to herself, she felt bad that she had now scared this girl shitless. Besides, she really did like Rodriguez. She was pretty, smart, talented, friendly, dutiful and she had a great sense of humor. In many ways, she was like a younger version of Miranda Lawson. She had the hair, the curves and at least a good portion of the brains. Plus, she didn't have the attitude.

"I can forgive you, ma'am," Rodriguez quietly said, as sweetly as ever. "So, I'm allowed to talk to Charles again, yeah?"

"Sure," Jack said and crossed her arms. "You can even give him a hug if you want to."

Rodriguez smiled, and to Jack's great surprise, she stood and gave her a hug instead. Standing there with her student's curvaceous body pressed against her own, Jack awkwardly patted Rodriguez' back. She had to admit that the younger woman had an amazing body, and as they hugged each other, Jack could feel herself getting a little hot. She was actually relieved when Rodriguez let go of her and turned to Magnus to embrace him instead.

"Are you sure it's okay?" Rodriguez asked and turned her head to Jack before hugging him.

Jack nodded, and was relieved to find that she didn't feel particularly uncomfortable when Magnus and Vera hugged each other.

"You have some tomato… here," Rodriguez told Charles and pointed to the corner of her own mouth.

"Thanks," Magnus said and reached for a tissue.

To both his and Jack's surprise, Rodriguez licked her thumb and started rubbing her wet finger in the corner of his mouth.

"Wait," she said and stopped rubbing. Your lip is really swollen. "Hey, is this blood?"

"Uhm…" Magnus froze.

"It IS blood!" Rodriguez shrieked. "Did someone punch you? Was it Snow?"

"That was me," Jack interrupted. "We had a  
little fight."

"Really?" Nielsen said excitedly. "Who won?"

Magnus and Jack looked at each other. "Draw," they chorused.

"Clearly," Rodriguez said with a dirty smile as she noticed they both had damp hair from the bath.

"Well… Yes," Jack said awkwardly. "A draw."

"On another note," Nielsen said, clearing his throat. "The engineers will be leaving tonight after dinner, which means that after that, we will be here alone. Well, us and Froeberg's geeky crew."

Magnus stepped around Rodriguez, who was still trying to clean the blood from his lip, and sat down at the table. "Yeah, we just saw Prangley tell Sophia that he's staying."

"How did she take it?" Rodriguez curiously asked, returning to the table to finish her sandwich.

"Not well," Jack muttered.

"They'll be alright," Rodriguez said confidently. "She loves him more than he knows and properly more than he deserves, and Prangley doesn't even realize how much he needs Sophia. I wouldn't be surprised if it's going to be harder for him being apart than it will be for her."

Nielsen looked thoughtful. "Maybe he will become just as obnoxious as before. Shame, really. I was starting to like him a lot better."

"Me too," Rodriguez admitted. "But I think that Jack here plays a big part in his transformation as well. Maybe even bigger than Sophia."

"Really?" Jack said. "How so?"

"He respects you, ma'am," Nielsen said. "Unlike some of the instructors we had in basics, he really admires you."

Jack thought about that for a moment. Naturally, she had noticed that Prangley had changed since the first couple of weeks at the academy. She was happy that he was still just as confident and serious about his combat biotics, but was pleased that he was now a lot easier to be around, especially for the other students. He had become less of an asshole, but he had done it without losing the edge that made him special. If she had anything to do with that, she didn't know, but the change was certainly welcome. What a dick he had been when she first met him.

Rodriguez was quick to forgive Jack, which only made the instructor like her even more, and before long all four of them were discussing how they were going to practice fighting, now that they wouldn't have the combat engineers to spar with any longer. As an instructor with limited experience, Jack appreciated the ideas and advice of her students, as long as they knew who had the final say.

After discussing their training for almost two hours, dinner was already being served in Orion Hall. The kitchen personnel had already been evacuated, and the cooking duty had been taken over by the small security detail who were staying behind to guard the remaining few students and maintain proper functionality aboard the space station. Luckily, that meant cooking as well, which meant that Jack and her students wouldn't have to think about that. On the downside, the quality of the food had suffered greatly.

The food was now being cooked by soldiers, which meant that it was going to be suited for humans with high activity levels, probably a high protein diet too. It wasn't really a problem for Jack and her biotic students, who required a shitload of calories after a day of training. She could easily imagine though, how Froeberg and his students would be getting fatter and fatter from eating the soldiers' cooking without really exercising.

Suddenly, she realized that Magnus might be getting fat as well. Of course he would still be working out, but if he ate like his classmates without having his biotics to burn it off, with the new diet, he would surely be getting chubby. Jack didn't particularly like the thought of that, she enjoyed how he had actually become increasingly toned in the time they had been together.

It saddened her that many of his muscles were built on frustration. Every time the rest of the students were doing something with their biotics, he would be happy to help, but afterwards he would go to the gym and punish his body until he collapsed with exhaustion. Perhaps she should try to stop him from destroying himself like that, but she had to admit, she loved the effect it had on his body. Maybe she should just warn him about eating too much of the new food instead.

"Hey," Magnus suddenly said to Nielsen and Rodriguez. "Did the two of you hear from your parents?"

"Yup," Nielsen answered. "My girlfriend and my parents are all still on Terra Nova."

"Mine too," Rodriguez added. "The sixth fleet is there to protect them.

"That's good news then, yeah?" Magnus said.

"I guess," Rodriguez sighed. "Though I would much prefer it if they just evacuated to the Citadel immediately."

"I'm not so sure about the Citadel," Kurt said thoughtfully. "What makes it so much safer than our colonies? Besides, it's not like every alien race on every single planet can be crammed into one space station, not even the Citadel."

"You're right, Kurt," Rodriguez admitted, leaning her head on his shoulder. "They will probably be fine on Terra Nova."

"What about the twins?" Magnus asked. "Did they manage to get a hold of their parents?"

"No," Kurt solemnly said. "Comm lines were down, but they took it surprisingly well."

"Well, not being able to communicate with their parents doesn't necessarily mean that they're not perfectly healthy," Jack said, remembering that her boyfriend's parents were on Earth, which meant that he was pretty much in the same boat with the Bellarmines.

Magnus gave her an appreciative smile and turned to Rodriguez and Nielsen again. "Plus, they still have each other. They'll gain strength from that."

"Where are they now?" Jack asked curiously.

"Trying out the comms again," Nielsen supplied.

"Ah…"

Agreeing that they might as well eat dinner while they were in Orion Hall, the four of them rose from the table and walked to the buffet. Jack happily noticed that Magnus didn't put a huge pile of food on his plate, and neither did she. Perhaps they could both avoid getting fat.

"When are the engineers leaving?" Magnus asked as they sat back down at their table.

Rodriguez looked all the way to the other end of the almost completely deserted Orion Hall. There was a row of giant numbers several floors up on the wall, showing the local time of certain chosen metropolises on Earth and a few other planets like Elysium, Terra Nova and Bekenstein. The time on the citadel was also visible. Finally, of course, there was the local time of Grissom Academy.

"The engineers are scheduled to evacuate in one hour," Rodriguez answered. "Should we go and see them off?"

"Sure," Nielsen said quietly. "Prangley might need somebody to lean on."

"Oh, Kurt," Rodriguez snuffled. She always got so emotional when people cared for one another. Even more so when it was her male friends taking care of each other. Usually, Jack found it a little weird and annoying that she would react so strongly, but even she had to admit, that it was moving how Nielsen, who was always such a joker, now showed sympathy towards Prangley.

-X-X-X-

Charles was back in the shuttle docking area for the second time that day. This time, they were saying goodbye to the engineers. As with the younger biotics, Charles and his classmates had formed a line, so they would be able to shake hands with the engineers as they walked towards their shuttle. Their green-clad rivals, however, were running a little late.

The twins had joined them, but Prangley was missing, and Charles was starting to worry about him. He had looked both sad and afraid as he followed his crying girlfriend out of Orion Hall at lunch. He sure hoped the two of them had been able to patch things up.

Prangley had been the one who was most excited about staying at the academy to continue their training, but now, Charles wouldn't blame him if he wanted to leave with Sophia instead. He certainly would have left in a heartbeat if Jack was going.

Lieutenant Sanders rounded the corner and took a place in their line. She wanted to join them in wishing the engineers good luck.

"Where's Prangley?" she asked.

"Dunno," Jack shrugged. "Probably still with his girl. He finally told her about his plans to stay."

Sanders nodded understandingly. "I see."

The door that they were expecting to see the combat engineers emerging from opened and Charles mentally prepared himself for another round of handshakes and probably even a few tears. The man stepping out wasn't an engineer though. In fact, he wasn't even a student. He was wearing Alliance dress blues, and the few medals that were strapped to his chest jingled ceremoniously as he approached the line of biotic students. Sergeant Wolff was leaving too.

Charles had to give it to him. Even Wolff looked pretty decent in dress blues. The soldier stopped in front of Sanders and snapped off a crisp salute to his superior, which the lieutenant immediately recognized with a salute of her own. Wolff then placed himself in front of Jack and her students, who were still standing shoulder to shoulder in a straight line, and saluted them as well. Charles and his classmates immediately and instinctively returned the gesture, remembering all the times they had been punished in the gym for not showing Wolff, _Sergeant_ Wolff that was, the proper amount of respect. Not surprisingly, Jack didn't give a shit about respect and discipline, and she lazily kept her hands in her pockets. By now, it seemed that the sergeant hadn't expected any different. Apparently, he knew a lost cause when he saw one.

"Do any of you like me?" the sergeant asked and began pacing back and forth in front of them.

Charles thought this was a weird question. Obviously, the answer was no, for all of them. Also, he was quite certain that Wolff already knew that he wasn't exactly anybody's favorite uncle. None of the students said anything though. Jack snickered at the silent response from her students, but Wolff ignored her completely.

"No? Excellent!" Wolff said. "Then I've done my job well."

"How so?" Reiley bravely asked. "We all gave you the lowest possible scores on our last instructor evaluations."

Wolff let out a barking laughter. It sounded much more pleasant than any noise Charles had ever heard from the old soldier, though still not exactly friendly. "Maybe I was going for the lowest possible score, Ensign Bellarmine."

"I don't understand," Seanne said.

"The Ascension Project is sponsored almost exclusively by the Alliance, and with the addition of the advanced class, it was the hope that at least a few of you would pursue military careers. Military life generally means have superiors screaming at you to do better, so I've doing just that. I've been tough and I've been unfair. At times, I may even have been downright nasty. Hooah?"

"Hooah!" Charles and his clasmates chorused, easily agreeing with Wolff on his nastiness.

"Now that I'm leaving, I can be honest with you…" Wolff paused, adjusting his cuffs. "I am proud of you. You have taken my abuse and worked hard. You're all under the two minute limit on the obstacle course, your shooting has greatly improved and you have shown great team spirit. There's no doubt in my mind that the Alliance would be happy to take you. All of you."

"Not that they can afford being picky right now," Kurt whispered in Charles' ear.

"I don't really care if you all hate me," Wolff continued. "Your hatred for me has made each of you push yourself and each other harder, which, as a military instructor, is all an old sergeant could hope for."

"Why wasn't I told this?" Jack interrupted. "That you were being an asshole on purpose."

"I'm sorry, Jack," Lieutenant Sanders said and turned to the instructor. "But you were an unknown quantity to the Alliance as well, so we had to see how you would cope with Sergeant Wolff as well."

"But I've worked with Commander Shepard," Jack interjected.

"On a Cerberus mission," Sanders reminded her. "And even during his time with the Alliance, I've been led to believe that Shepard does everything very differently."

"I see," Jack conceded.

"You didn't kill me, so I guess you've passed as well," Wolff said, shaking Jack's hand.

"I wanted to a couple of times," Jack muttered.

"Likewise," the sergeant admitted calmly, as he continued to shake the rest of the biotic students' hands.

Finally, he reached Lieutenant Sanders. There was an awkward pause, but then eventually, he held out his hand to her as well.

"Oh, what the hell!" Sanders said, swatted his hand away and gave him a hug instead.

After that, the sergeant walked off to fill his seat on the shuttle. Charles couldn't help but notice the very smug smile on his lips and the increased spring in his step.

"What?" Sanders said, noticing how Jack and her students were all looking at her, smiling. "He's going away. I had to give him something."

Charles laughed to himself, but immediately straightened himself up when the door opened again, and the class of combat engineers started to file into the shuttle docking area. Thomas Snow was in the front, joking and laughing with a couple of his buddies. Charles gritted his teeth and curled up his fists. Even in a situation like this, Snow didn't have the common courtesy to show his own classmates a little consideration as they said goodbye to their home through several years.

"There's one douchebag I'm not gonna miss," Kurt whispered in Charles' ear.

The engineers lined up to shake hands with the Ascension Project students. Thomas Snow did so with an indifferent facial expression until he reached Charles. With an evil smirk he held out his hand to Charles. Not wanting to be the one instigating hostilities, Charles reached out as well, half expecting Snow to remove his hand. The engineer however grabbed his hand and started to shake it.

"Goodbye, Austin No-Powers," he hissed.

"Really?" Charles sighed. "Please just leave, Snow."

Snow didn't leave though; instead he tightened his grip around Charles' hand and leaned in closer, whispering. "Say hi to my old friend Prangley from me." He pointed to the back of the line of engineers where Prangley was standing, holding hands with his girlfriend. "He's been with Sophia, crying all afternoon. It's pathetic! You can tell him that I'll _take care_ of his hot-ass girlfriend while they're apart."

"She would never allow you to _take care_ of her," Charles replied, growling.

"Maybe I don't care about her giving me permission. Maybe I'll just do what I want to her. Like I did to your friend Rodriguez."

That was it! Charles had really been restraining himself while Snow insulted Prangley, who had once protected Charles' honor from the engineer's taunts, but still he decided that he just wanted Snow to leave as quickly as possible. As soon as the asshole, who was still clenching his fist, mentioned his attempt at rape on Vera though, letting Snow go unpunished was out of the question.

Charles violently yanked Snow towards him by the hand, bringing the surprised engineer's face straight into his awaiting elbow. With a horrible crunch the engineer's nose collided with Charles' elbow, breaking it and spraying blood on both young men's uniforms. Satisfied with himself, Charles pushed Snow away, but continued to glare at the bastard who was now holding his broken nose.

"Charles!" Vera screamed in shock, while Jack cheered, encouraging him to hurt the engineer even more.

Thomas Snow's two buddies started cracking their knuckles and moved threateningly towards Charles, but they were suddenly lifted into the air by Kurt and Reiley.

"Forget it, lads," Kurt said calmly, flipping the engineer he was levitating upside down.

"Yeah," Reiley said and guided his own engineer towards the awaiting shuttle. "Don't risk your own health for that asshole."

The two engineers conceded their defeat and Kurt and Reiley gently floated them back down to the floor. With bowed heads, they followed the still bleeding Snow into the shuttle.

"Oh, that was glorious," Jack laughed and gave Charles, Kurt and Reiley approving shoulder claps.

"It wasn't!" Sanders said in a very stern voice, her hands on her hips. "Why are you constantly antagonizing Engineer Snow?"

"He started it," Charles said lamely, feeling incredibly childish. He gave Vera a quick glance, and she must have realized that Snow had said something about her, because she gave him an appreciative smile. If it was for hurting Snow or for not telling everybody why he had done it, he didn't know. It was probably both.

"We'll talk about this later," Sanders sighed.

Luckily, the rest of the engineers all pretty much knew how much of a bastard Thomas Snow was, and they certainly knew that he deserved every ounce of pain delivered to him by any of the biotic students. The rest of the goodbye scene was actually quite moving and tear-filled.

The two classes had competed against each other many times, and even though they had been rivals so often, most of the students had managed to form healthy, friendly, but competitive relationships with the members of the opposing team, and Charles happily shook hands with the remaining engineers.

"Hi," said a dark-skinned, long-legged girl quietly as she reached Charles. It was Lichelle. She was very pretty, and Charles thought that under different circumstances, she could have become his girlfriend. Maybe if he had accepted Prangley and Sophia's offer of setting up a blind date? Maybe if she hadn't started dating that other guy? Maybe if he hadn't started dating Jack?

Even though Lichelle was very attractive, he still didn't regret anything. He was happy with Jack.

He was surprised when she pulled him into a hug. They had never really talked to each other, except for a few times at the interdepartmental competitions. "I hope I'll see you again," she whispered in his ear.

"Goodbye," Charles neutrally replied and let her go quickly so Jack wouldn't throw a fit. Even though she had promised not to fly off the handle every time Charles talked to a woman, he still didn't completely trust Jack to keep that promise if she saw him hugging a pretty girl like Lichelle.

In the end, Sophia was the only remaining engineer.

She and Vera had become very good friends, and their farewell was both teary and lengthy.

"Why can't you come with me?" Sophia sobbed, turning to her boyfriend, who looked uncharacteristically depressed.

"Baby, we've talked about this already," Prangley simply said.

"Fuck your stupid reasons, Jason. I want to stay with you then!" Sophia angrily cried.

"Honey…" Prangley sighed.

"I'm starting to think you don't love me!" Sophia interrupted.

Prangley froze. His face showed sorrow and hurt.

"I'm sorry," Sophia started, but was quieted when Prangley fell to his knee.

"Baby," he said, tears streaming down his face. "You have to go to the Citadel. I… I have to know that you're safe. I want you to wait for me there. I will come for you, Honey! You hear me? I WILL come for you!"

Charles could feel the tears softly rolling down his own cheeks, and he could hear both Reiley and Kurt sniffling as well. Obviously, Vera, Seanne and Lieutenant Sanders were outright crying. Surprisingly, even Jack's mascara had started to run. Their emotional responses were nothing compared to what happened next though.

The still kneeling Prangley looked up at Sophia, nothing but tears and love in his eyes. "I love you, Sophia. Will you marry me?" he asked, presenting a ring from his pocket.

That was too much for Vera, who fainted. Luckily, Reiley and Seanne were able to catch her before she hit the floor.

Charles' jaw had dropped. The same was true for Jack, Kurt, both Bellarmines and Sanders.

Sophia just stared at the ring, then at Prangley, and then back at the ring.

"Are you fucking crazy?" she finally screamed. "What the hell is wrong with your timing, you god damn idiot?"

Prangley bowed his head in defeat. "I understand," he sighed. "I can recognize a rejection when I see one."

"No, you can't!" Sophia squealed and snatched the engagement ring from between his fingers. "Yes, I'll marry you!"

"You will?" Prangley said, sounding extremely surprised.

"Of course," Sophia said and pulled him back to his feet. "I still think you're a big, stupid idiot with horrible timing. But you're my idiot!"

"I am," Prangley said and they shared a passionate kiss while the biotic students, minus the still unconscious Vera, started clapping and cheering.

The shuttle pilot interrupted the celebrations by reminding Sophia, that he was only waiting for her.

"Will you wait for me?" Prangley asked his fiancé.

"I will," Sophia said and kissed him again. "But please hurry."

Sophia said quick goodbyes and received congratulations from Charles and his classmates. She even got to show off her ring to Vera, who had come back to life. Seeing the ring and hearing that Sophia had said yes nearly caused her to faint again though.

"I will come for you," Prangley said, tears again rolling from his eyes as he held Sophia one last time before lifting her onto the shuttle's passenger deck. "I love you!"

"I love you too," Sophia softly said before the shuttle door closed and she disappeared from view.

Charles silently watched, as the shuttle lifted off the platform and carried Sophia away. Prangley stood in place, crying softly and starring off into nothingness.

Not knowing what to do, Charles looked to Jack, but she looked even more confused than he felt. Quickly, he turned to his other side. Vera was crying even harder than Prangley, which was bad, because she was probably his best hope for some advice in a situation like this. Kurt shrugged; clearly he didn't know what to do either. The twins were busy trying to comfort the head director, who was crying uncontrollably.

Realizing that everybody else didn't know what to do either, he slowly walked towards Prangley.

When Charles had almost reached him, a blue wall appeared around Prangley, keeping him at a distance.

"Come on," Charles said softly, putting his palms on Prangley's barrier. "Don't shut us out."

Prangley sat down on the cold floor and wrapped his arms around his knees. A few seconds later, the biotic wall flickered and disappeared.

"Hey," Charles said and sat down beside his classmate.

"Hey," Prangley said in a rough voice.

"Congratulations on the engagement," Charles said.

"Hmm…" Prangley sadly hummed. "Thanks, I guess. It doesn't feel like I had hoped though."

"But are you glad that you did it?"

Prangley quietly thought for a few seconds. "Yes," he finally decided. "I love her, you know."

"I know," Charles said. That was what made Sophia's goodbye and her engagement to Prangley that much more emotional for the rest of them. It had always been difficult to get Prangley to admit that he was actually in love with Sophia. But today, they had witnessed him declare his love for her, in front of everybody, in the strongest way possible.

"Would you mind going to the gym with me?" Prangley asked, rising to his feet.

For once, Charles didn't comment on his friend's excessive use of the gym. He knew that Prangley needed to distract himself in a place where he could feel safe. There was only one place he could go and only one answer Charles could give:

"Sure. Let's go."

-X-X-X-

When Prangley had finally worn himself completely out, it had become very late, and Charles was relieved that his friend had finally stopped punishing both the equipment and himself.

Jack was waiting for them at the door, leaning against the wall.

"Goodnight, ma'am," Prangley said and walked out of the gym.

"Goodnight," Jack quietly answered.

Charles stepped up to Jack as well, placing his hands on his knees while panting.

"I thought he would never quit. I'm completely smashed!"

"Pussy," Jack sympathized.

"Hah," Charles laughed, still out of breath. "I just hope this was good for him."

"We'll see. Ready to go to bed?"

"Very much," Charles said and followed her out into Ascension Hall.

"We can't use my room, remember?" Jack reminded him, as he started to walk towards her office door.

"Right," Charles said, remembering the destruction they had caused that morning.

"Do you think he will be alright?" Jack asked as they stepped out of Ascension Hall and into the public corridors. "Prangley, I mean."

"Yes," Charles said, feeling fairly confident in his answer. "He knows that Sophia loves him and he knows that she is safe on the Citadel. I think he'll be alright as soon as the initial shock wears off."

"Let's hope so," Jack said. "You should shower by the way. You don't exactly smell like roses."

"I can imagine," Charles laughed, but quickly stopped again as his abs were already getting sore from the extreme workout.

He dropped Jack off at his room and grabbed a towel before heading to the bathroom down the hallway.

He quickly stopped at Prangley's door, listening carefully, trying to determine if he had made it back. He could hear the sounds of soft crying from behind the door and quickly moved on down the corridor. At least his friend had made it back to his room, and Charles couldn't blame him at all for crying.

After a quick shower, he wrapped the towel around himself and walked back to his room. He hadn't bothered to bring spare clothes to the bathroom like he usually would. With fewer than twenty students left on the station and Prangley as his closest neighbor, he wasn't likely to run into anyone in the hallway between the bathroom and his own room.

Jack hadn't gone to sleep yet when he arrived. She was lying on his bed, holding up the blanket, inviting him to join her. He quickly got rid of the towel and lay down behind her.

From his position, he could see the cuts on her back, and realized that he felt bad for hurting her.

"I'm sorry about these," he said and started kissing her wounded shoulders.

"Go to sleep," Jack ordered. "I've told you already. I liked it."

"You scare me sometimes," Charles whispered, wincing as the scratches on his own shoulders grazed the bed sheets.

"Pussy!" was the last thing he registered before falling asleep with Jack in his arms.

-X-X-X-

Charles woke up, as usual he was freezing like hell because Jack had snatched every single inch of blanket he had. He checked his alarm clock and realized that it was still way too early to safely wake up Jack. He couldn't sleep any longer though and decided to go for a walk.

He stretched but quickly regretted, realizing that every muscle in his body was hurting. Careful not to wake up Jack, he got out of bed and put on briefs, socks and a pair of uniform pants. He tried slipping on a t-shirt, but the scratches on his back were even worse today. After a few tries of gently putting on the shirt, he gave up and chose the cold of being shirtless over the pain of clothing. At least he could put on his boots.

As silently as possible, he snuck out of the door and went to the bathroom to brush his teeth. As expected, he didn't meet a single soul as he walked around the station. It was early, but under normal circumstances, he would surely have met a few other insomniacs.

Orion Hall was, not surprisingly, completely empty, and for the first time ever, Charles realized, he was completely alone in the biggest room he could imagine. It was too tempting. Charles couldn't resist the urge to test out the echo.

"Woo!" he shouted and smiled as his own voice came back to him many, many times, resonating of the walls of Orion Hall.

"Wow," he said quietly and grinned as that echoed as well.

For a long time, Charles just walked around, not really paying attention to where he was. He reached many places where he was certain he had never been before, and it wasn't long before he had lost his bearings completely. He honestly had no idea where he was.

He chose a direction and started walking that way, reckoning that eventually he would stumble upon something familiar. Before long, he found the concert hall, which had housed the academy's symphony orchestra. Charles knew how to get back from here, but he didn't want to go back just yet.

He pushed the button of the door to the concert hall and realized that it was locked. He tried swiping his ID card and was pleasantly surprised when the doors unlocked. Luckily, few departments were as secretive as the Ascension Project, where no one without the proper ID could get access.

Seeing the many shiny instruments left behind by the evacuated musicians, Charles knew he had to try them out.

His mother had taught him to play the piano, and he was actually pretty decent at it, but that wasn't the first instrument he decided to play with. After having little luck with the brass, he tried the string instruments instead. He quickly gave that up as well, having nearly deafened himself by butchering Antonio Vivaldi on a violin.

After playing around a bit with the various drums, he finally settled at the grand piano, home turf.

It was a majestic instrument, a masterpiece in itself, and even though he was completely alone and didn't have to worry about it, he didn't know if he could do it justice.

Holding his breath, he pressed a key at random and enjoyed the cleanest note he had ever heard, as it filled the concert hall. The acoustic was perfect, and Charles thought, that with this piano in this room, anyone could be star. With enforced confidence, he started to play, and even though his voice in no way could accompany the piano, he couldn't stop himself from singing along. As he sang Charles thought about his own and Prangley's situation, and he decided, that the song was somehow fitting.

_"She packed my bags last night, pre-flight _

_Zero hour, nine a.m. _

_And I'm gonna be high as a kite by then" _

_"I miss the Earth so much, I miss my wife _

_It's lonely out in space _

_On such a timeless flight" _

_"And I think it's gonna be a long, long time _

_'til touch down brings me round again to find _

_I'm not the man they think I am at home _

_Oh no, no, no, I'm a rocket man _

_Rocket man, burning out his fuse up here alone" _

As soon as he finished his song someone started clapping, and Charles looked up to see Jack standing in the doorway.

"Thank you," he shyly said, only now realizing that he had had an audience.

"That was great," Jack happily said and joined him on the piano bench. "I never knew you could play."

"I can't… Not really."

"Stop," Jack said, putting a finger on his lips. "You're always selling yourself short. Don't do that."

"Okay," he whispered.

"Can you play another?"

"Anything in particular?"

"I seem to remember us both liking Queen," Jack said, scooting a little closer. "How about 'Don't stop me now'?"

"You'll have to sing along then," Charles laughed.

"Oh, you don't want that," Jack said. "I suck!"

"Talk about selling yourself short," Charles snickered, giving her a gentle nudge.

"Touché," Jack sighed. "So… You're not the man they think you are at home?"

Charles laughed and kissed her deeply as her hand slid between his thighs. "Most definitely not," he huskily whispered before starting to play.

* * *

_A/N:_

_I'm back!_

Exams are over (for now) and I was hoping to have some more writing time, but then we were thrown right into a great big project at school. I wanted to post this chapter in this week though, and I'm happy that I've made it.

_I want to avoid telling the story in these notes, but if there's anything that you want to know/any mistakes you think I made. Please review or send me a PM and I will try to defend my decisions :) I may even write your suggestions into one of the future chapters._

_This chapter doesn't contain a lot of action, so if that's your thing: Stay with me! It'll come! (though this chapter had the angry sex scene and Charles finally getting to inflict some real damage on Thomas Snow)_

_This chapter was all about the emotion, so there wasn't that much humor either, but don't worry. The story is not going to be dark from now on._

_As I said. Throw me a few lines if you feel like it._

_Thanks for waiting patiently._

_PS: The song near the end is "Rocket Man" by Elton John. (great song that have actually been used at the NASA launch of Discovery in 1998)_

_- Simon_


	26. Empty Part II

**_Attention! This chapter is (as the title suggests) a direct continuation of the previous chapter. I suggest rereading chapter twenty-five, or at least the last section, for the optimal experience. Anyways, enjoy!_**

Chapter Twenty-Six – Empty Part II

Jack was resting her head on her boyfriend's shoulder, closing her eyes and humming queitly as he continued to play the piano. She didn't recognize the melody any longer, and she wondered if Magnus wasn't in fact just making it up as he went. Either way, Jack was relaxed by it and she snuggled closer to him.

"You're shivering," she noticed.

"I'm freezing," Magnus admitted, dramatically finishing his otherwise peaceful melody.

"Well, you're not wearing a shirt," Jack said appreciatively, running her hand down his naked front, grinning as she felt the hardness of his nipples.

He giggled boyishly at her touch, but then become slightly more serious. "My back is sore as hell. I can't wear a shirt."

Jack was just about to call him a pussy, but then she leaned back on the piano bench and noticed that the scratches she had made on his back were indeed looking rather nasty. Her own back had been cut up as well, from when Magnus smashed her against the mirror, but unlike him, Jack was used to the pain. The tattoo-covered scars all over her body was a testament to that.

"Let's go and find some medi-gel for you," Jack softly said and rose from the bench.

Magnus caressed the grand piano, which apparently was something special to him, before he got to his feet as well. Jack couldn't really relate to his awe of the instrument, but since it obviously was a big deal for him, she decided not to comment on this.

"Come on," he said, grabbed her hand and started leading her out of the concert hall. With one last, longing glance back at the piano, he stepped out into the corridor with Jack in tow.

"Have you seen Prangley this morning?" he asked, as they walked towards Ascension Hall.

"No. Why?"

"I was just wondering if he's alright," Magnus shrugged.

"He was the one who wanted her to leave, wasn't he?" Jack said. "I think he's going to be fine."

"I guess," Magnus sighed. "Maybe he just needs a little time."

They had been in the concert hall for a while, and it was now around the time where the students usually had their breakfast in Orion Hall. Normally, the giant room being empty this time of the day was totally unheard of, but that was indeed the case today.

As they walked through Orion Hall, a door in the far end suddenly opened, and three alliance soldiers came in carrying breakfast for the few remaining people on the station.

Jack and Magnus decided to get a bite to eat while they were in Orion Hall anyway and set course for the buffet. The medi-gel they could always pick up afterwards.

Sitting at a table, enjoying their breakfast in silence, it wasn't long before they were joined by Rodriguez and Nielsen.

"Good morning," Nielsen cheerily said, pulling out a chair for Rodriguez before sitting down himself. The blond grinned at Jack and Magnus, noticing that Magnus was only half uniformed. "Lovely morning, yeah?" he snickered.

"Can it, Nielsen," Jack said, shoving a piece of toast into his mouth.

Then she noticed how Rodriguez was hungrily eying her boyfriend's naked torso. She was practically salivating, and the mediocre breakfast cooked by alliance grunts had nothing to do with it.

"Hey!" Jack hissed, snapping her fingers in Rodriguez's face. "I know I apologized to you about the threats, but please get a hold of yourself!"

"Huh… Oh, sorry, ma'am… I was... I was…" Rodriguez tried to explain herself, while Magnus, to Jack's great annoyance, chuckled.

"I'm sorry," Rodriguez finally managed to say. "It's just. The muscles… I can't control it."

At this point, Nielsen was laughing so hard, that he had tears in his eyes, and he almost fell out of his chair.

Magnus had become a little red in the face, and was making sure not to look either of them in the eye, while he concentrated on finishing his breakfast.

Eventually, Jack laughed as well, seeing how embarrassed both Rodriguez and Magnus were looking.

Rodriguez sensed that she wasn't in any imminent danger, and returned her attention to her food, smiling at Jack and making sure not to get caught staring at Magnus' body. Jack noticed her peeking from time to time though, but decided that she would allow that. As long as she wasn't positively ogling him, Jack didn't mind it that much. She couldn't blame Rodriguez for sneaking glances, when Magnus was just sitting there, right in her face, all shirtless and dreamy.

"What are we doing today?" Magnus asked, trying to diffuse some of the tension. "Do you have anything planned for us?"

"No," Jack admitted. "Actually, I was going to give you another day off."

"Why?" Nielsen asked. "I want to get started."

"Prangley might need some more time," Rodriguez reminded him.

"I'm more than a hundred percent certain that Prangley would rather be working his ass off than having a day off," Kurt said confidently.

"You've got a point," Rodriguez conceded.

"We should go to the gym then," Jack said. "You guys need to put on some muscle."

"Not all of us," Rodriguez whispered, barely audible to Jack, while sneaking another glance at Magnus.

Jack sighed, but couldn't help but smile at Rodriguez. She really was incurably addicted to testosterone.

"_some of you_ could do with a little more muscle," Jack emphasized, nodding and grinning in Nielsen's direction. The blond was not only quite a bit shorter than Magnus, but much more scrawny as well.

"We're not all meant to look like Mr. Universe here," Nielsen defended, pointing at Magnus, who blushed.

Rodriguez laughed. "You still have some work ahead of you, if you want to look like Prangley though."

"I don't," Magnus said. "I didn't even mean for this," he pointed to his bicep, "to happen. It just sort of did."

"That's what happens _when you actually go to the gym from time to time," _Jack said. The last part was aimed directly at Rodriguez and Nielsen, none of whom had been as diligent in their use of the gym as Magnus, who, dutiful as he was, hadn't skipped any of the exercises and training programs assigned to him by either Wolff or herself.

There was also the issue of Magnus punishing himself in the gym when he became frustrated about his biotic abilities, but Jack decided to keep that out of the conversation.

Rodriguez and Nielsen both promised that they would give it their all, if Jack decided to hold a class that day. Magnus on the other hand groaned, claiming to be sore all over from trying to keep up with Prangley's self-destructive pace the previous night.

Jack could understand that. Prangley had really gone all out in the gym yesterday, trying to deal with the pain of having to say goodbye to Sophia, and Magnus had been with him every step of the way. She wondered if any of them should really be going back to the gym today, but knowing Prangley, she knew that she probably wouldn't be able to keep him away either way.

"Let's wait with the gym until the afternoon at least," Jack said. This way, at least Magnus and Prangley would have a little more time to recuperate. Nielsen, Rodriguez and especially Magnus agreed to this.

Having finished their breakfasts, the four of them got up and headed towards the part of the station where Magnus' room was. Rodriguez and Nielsen had decided to go check on Prangley, so they decided to walk with Jack and Magnus.

"Oh" Rodriguez gasped when she saw the state of Magnus' back and shoulders. "What happened? Is that why you're not wearing a shirt?"

Magnus nodded, but was clearly at a loss trying to figure out how to explain his wounds.

Next to Rodriguez, Nielsen had obviously already figured out how the scratches had come about, because the blond was doubled over, laughing like a maniac.

"What?" Rodriguez said confusedly, looking from Nielsen to Jack and finally Magnus, whose dark red face gave it all away. "Oh…" she said when realization dawned.

"We're going to get some medi-gel," Magnus said. "My mother packed some for me."

The rest of the walk to the room was spent in awkward silence apart from the occasional snickers that could be heard from Nielsen every time Magnus' bruised back caught his eye.

"You know," Nielsen said, alerting everyone who knew him, that he was about to make a joke, "I'm sure Vera would be more than happy to massage that medi-gel in."

"Shut up!" Rodriguez squealed, slapping her best friend on the arm.

Jack chuckled at her reaction, but had to admit, that she didn't like the idea of Rodriguez running her hands over Magnus' naked upper body. She could tolerate the staring, but there would be no massaging. Luckily for Rodriguez, she seemed to agree.

Jack and Magnus said goodbye to the others and stepped into Magnus' room, where he began to rummage through his things to find some medi-gel. Finally, he found it and handed the tube to Jack.

"Stand still, you big baby," Jack giggled as she distributed the gel on his shoulders.

"Ouch," Magnus winced. "It stings."

"How are you ever going to handle getting a tattoo?" Jack asked.

Magnus sighed deeply. They had discussed this a couple of times in the past. Jack really wanted him to get a tattoo, but Magnus, though not completely opposed to the idea, was hesitant. He was afraid that his parents would disapprove. Jack had reminded him that his parents probably would be none too happy about him being with her in the first place, and a tattoo wouldn't make that much of a difference.

Magnus had admitted that she was probably right, and Jack felt fairly confident that she could talk him into getting some ink done eventually.

"Should we go and clean up my room?" Jack asked, drying the excess medi-gel off her hands with a paper towel. "You should help me. It's only fair."

"Oh, I keep forgetting about that mess," Magnus sighed. "And of course I'll help you."

The medi-gel had a numbing effect, and Magnus was able to put on the top half of his uniform before they stepped back out into the hallway. Immediately, they ran back into Nielsen and Rodriguez.

"Hi again," Nielsen laughed. "Good to see you fully clothed."

"Speak for yourself," Rodriguez said, looking genuinely depressed by the fact that Magnus was now wearing a shirt.

"Don't push your luck, Rodriguez," Jack said in an icy tone.

"Sorry, ma'am. Just joking."

She wasn't.

"How was Prangley?" Magnus curiously asked.

"Not at home," Nielsen informed. "We suspect he's gone to the gym."

"Well, well," Jack said in mock admiration. "Aren't you clever, Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson? Of course he fucking went to the gym."

"Where are you two going now?" Rodriguez asked. "We were going to look for Prangley."

"My room is a little… hmmm… messy. We're going to fix that," Jack explained.

"Oh, I can help," Rodriguez offered.

"No!" Magnus quickly said. "It's fine."

"Hush," Jack said, putting her hand over his mouth. "If the princess wants to help, we should let her."

A plan was forming in Jack's head. If Rodriguez saw her room and the evidence of her passionate relationship with Magnus, perhaps the girl would realize that he was out of her reach. Not that she still felt uncertain about the younger woman's intentions with her man. Okay, maybe just a little. But at least this way she could show dominance without having to threaten or physically harm the poor thing.

As they walked towards Ascension Hall, it became clear that Magnus was very nervous about Vera seeing the state of Jack's room, and even though she wasn't easily embarrassed, Jack was actually glad that Nielsen had decided to join Prangley in the gym instead of helping with the clean-up. That fucker would go fucking mental with the jokes, and Jack wasn't sure that she would be able to handle that. She looked forward to Rodriguez's reaction though.

A few minutes later they reached Ascension Hall where they ran into Kahlee Sanders, who had just come back from breakfast.

"Good morning," she said enthusiastically.

"Good morning, ma'am," the students chorused. Jack just nodded her head at her.

"What are you up to today?" Kahlee asked.

"I'm going to the gym," Nielsen replied.

"And Charles and I are going to help Jack clean her office," Rodriguez happily added.

Kahlee furrowed her brows at Jack, who was doing her best to look innocent. "Jack? Don't you think asking your students to do your cleaning for you sounds a lot like power abuse."

"But they want to help," Jack said in her sweetest voice.

Rodriguez and Magnus both nodded.

"Why does it take three people to clean anyway? How messy can your office be?" Kahlee then asked.

"You'd be surprised," Magnus muttered, only audible to Jack, who was having a hard time preventing herself from laughing.

"It's not that bad," Jack assured her boss. "They just need something to take their minds off everything that happened yesterday."

"I see," Kahlee said thoughtfully. Jack smirked. She could always get out of trouble with Kahlee if she could convince the head director, that she was doing something that would benefit the students.

"I'll give you a hand as well," Kahlee suddenly said.

_Shit! This wasn't part of the plan!_

Having Rodriguez help them with cleaning up the room was bound to be fun, but Kahlee Sanders was another thing.

The head director still didn't fully approve of their relationship, and she certainly didn't want to know any of the more intimate details. Seeing Jack's passionately destroyed quarters would most likely cause Kahlee to freak out and try to split them up again. Neither Jack nor Magnus wanted to go through that again.

Everything had gone so well lately, and Jack had been careful not to provoke the head director too much, though she still enjoyed deliberately kissing Magnus in front of her. Kahlee on the other hand seemed to pretend that she didn't know that Jack was in a relationship with one of her students.

"Okaaay," Jack hesitantly said, not knowing how to decline the lieutenant's offer.

Magnus had obviously sensed the danger of including Kahlee as well, and he was now looking like someone who just wanted to run away. Jack had to admit, that she was suddenly getting a little nervous herself.

"See you all later," Nielsen said and jogged towards the gym, leaving behind just the people who were going to be helping Jack with her trashed room.

"You ready for this?" Jack asked Rodriguez and Kahlee, who just looked at her like she was crazy. Magnus was standing a little bit away from everyone else. He clearly wasn't looking forward to the head director and his co-student seeing the mess he had helped create.

"How bad can it be?" Kahlee said and snatched Jack's ID card out of her hand.

After a quick swipe they entered the office, which actually wasn't that messy at all. Well, at least not more than usual. Jack would gladly admit to not being the most meticulous cleaner.

"What's the problem?" Rodriguez asked. "It's not _that_ untidy in here."

Kahlee sniffed the air. "It smells a bit like booze though," she noted, giving Jack a judgmental glance.

"Never mind the office," Jack said and stepped towards her bedroom door.

She heard Magnus take one great big breath as she opened it and allowed the two other women inside.

Rodriguez and Kahlee both gasped and leaned against the wall in shock.

Jack had to admit. Her bedroom wasn't looking pretty. In fact it looked a lot worse than she remembered.

The floor was littered in broken glass, datapads and pieces of wood and plastic that had once been bookshelves or nightstands. The parts of her mirror that hadn't broken off and fallen to the floor, were clinging onto the frame, looking absolutely horrifying, as large quantities of Jack's own blood was smeared all over the remaining shards of glass.

In Jack's head it looked like someone had collected all of her belonging in one giant singularity field and then detonated it with a warp. It was an absolute nightmare.

Worst of all though was the bed. Her white sheets had taken on a red pattern, which might actually have looked pretty descent, if it wasn't for the fact that it was made from Magnus' and her own dried blood.

The entire bed looked sticky. Not only was there quite a bit of blood on it, but her sheets had also been marinated in sweat and fluids of passion originating from both herself and her lover.

It was really bad, and Jack cautiously turned around to gauge the reaction of the others.

Magnus was trying to make himself disappear in the corner, but he was betrayed by the sound of glass crunching beneath his boots.

Kahlee looked incredibly disgusted, Jack noticed, as the lieutenant scanned the room, discovering increasingly disturbing details.

Rodriguez also looked a little put off, but there was also a hint of a grin on her face. Perhaps the princess wasn't going to be as girly and squeamish about it as Jack had expected. Not that it really mattered. The important thing was that Rodriguez knew, that Jack had been doing some freaky naughty things with Magnus that a pretty little girl like her could never do.

Jack knew that she should stop worrying about Rodriguez. She had promised Magnus and she didn't honestly believe that Rodriguez was going to try and steal him anyway.

"Fuck," Rodriguez muttered, as she took in the sight.

"Seems like there's been enough of that going on," Kahlee commented dryly.

Jack couldn't help but smile. "I thought you didn't want to know about me and Magnus, Lieutenant?"

Kahlee sighed. "You seem to always forget, Jack, that I was actually young once, and that," she pointed to the bed, "kind of gives away what's been going on in here. What's up with all the blood and the broken mirror though?"

"Do you really want to know?"

"No. Forget it! I don't want any details. I'm not going anywhere near that bed though!"

"Me neither," Rodriguez giggled.

"Fine," Jack said. "It was you guys who wanted to help in the first place."

"Yeah, about that," Kahlee said, pushing some shards of glass around with the tip of her boot. "I've just remembered that I need to fill out some reports."

"Yeah right," Jack whispered to Magnus and Rodriguez as Kahlee left through the front office.

"I think Lieutenant Sanders just realized how ummm… physical you two actually are with each other," Rodriguez snickered. "That might be too much for her to handle."

"What about you? Are you okay with us? With this? You can leave too, if you want to. You don't have to stay," Magnus said, sounding very much like he wanted to avoid the embarrassment of having one of his best friends in the room for another second.

"No, I'm good," Rodriguez happily dismissed. "What you two do in the private of your rooms isn't really my business, but I can still help with the cleaning. I'm still not touching the bed though."

"Cool," Jack said. "You can start collecting the data-pads and other objects of value from the floor."

"Aye aye, ma'am," Rodriguez said, snapped off a salute (making Jack wince) and started to scour the bedroom for important things that could be salvaged.

"I'll get rid of the glass," Magnus offered, leaving Jack with the bed. _Gee, thanks._

Two hours later, the sheets had been burned, the floor was free of mirror pieces and other shrapnel and the room had been blessed with a healthy dose of air freshener. Even though several pieces of furniture had to be deemed KIA, Jack still considered the mission a success. Her room looked descent again.

"Let's go and see if Kurt and Prangley is still in the gym," Rodriguez suggested.

"Kurt will be dead by now," Magnus said darkly, rubbing his arms, which were probably still very sore from his late night workout with Prangley.

When they reached the gym, Nielsen had wisely decided to quit while he was alive. Prangley on the other hand was still hard at work on one of the treadmills. Once again, Jack was impressed with the young man's strength and ability to push himself. It did bother her a bit that he was obviously doing it because he was in pain. She hoped that he, eventually, would be able to deal with Sophia leaving.

Stepping a little bit closer, Jack noticed that Prangley's eyes were clouded over. He looked a little like a shell shocked soldier, but somehow his feet kept moving, and he was tearing up the meters on the treadmill.

Slowly, Jack stepped even closer, but Prangley didn't even seem like he noticed her presence.

Cautiously, she took a peek at the treadmill's monitor, which revealed that Prangley was coming up on 35 kilometers.

Rodriguez silently reached in and pressed the power button of the treadmill, which came to a gentle stop. "You need to stop tormenting yourself, Prangley."

"I'm not," he hoarsely whispered. "I'm relieving the pain."

"You need to eat," she whispered tearfully.

"I will," he said. "Just a few more kilometers."

"No," Rodriguez said, firmly grabbing his wrist and pulling him towards the door. "I promised Sophia that I wouldn't let you do this to yourself."

Prangley smiled at the thought of his fiancée taking care of him. Even if she wasn't there anymore.

"It's still too early for lunch though," Prangley noted.

"Good," Rodriguez said with a soft smile. "You need a shower."

"I'll go with him," Nielsen offered and dried some sweat off his forehead.

- -X - - X - - X - -

About an hour later they all met up in Orion Hall, where the Bellarmine twins were already having lunch.

Seanne and Reiley were talking to some soldiers, who were on a break after finishing their gig in the kitchen. The food they had created tasted like ass, but the biotic students were far too polite to tell them the truth.

Later they were joined by Kahlee, Doctor Arthur Froeberg and his remaining students, which meant that everybody left on the station, with the exception of a few on-duty Alliance soldiers, were together in Orion Hall.

Doctor Froeberg and his handful of students were incredibly boring to be sat with, Jack decided, having been lectured on the finer mechanics of Hahne-Kedar's LOKI mechs by a pig-tailed girl.

She understood that the nerds were doing something important for the Alliance, that might actually help against the reapers, but that didn't mean that Jack wanted to hear about it.

Doctor Froeberg, an older, balding man, who always seemed to be wearing the same dirty lab coat, was whining about losing the younger half of his class. Like with the Ascension Project, anyone under 18 years was forced to evacuate. Apparently Froeberg had lost the smarter half of his class by waving goodbye to the youngest. Hearing this scared Jack a little. The older ones already spoke in a language that was near incomprehensible to her and the biotic students.

Rodriguez and Seanne Bellarmine seemed to have caught the interest of the two young marines. The ones who had cooked their lunch. Jack laughed to herself when Vera politely declined Private Pattison's offer to escort her around the station. Being a soldier apparently wasn't enough to make up for his horrendous kitchen skills. Or maybe Pattison just wasn't muscular enough. In the end Vera turned to talk to her best friend Nielsen instead.

Seanne on the other hand seemed a little more open to the idea of receiving some more attention from her admirer, Private Jeffries, who had succeeded in convincing the biotic, that his cooking wasn't actually that bad, and that Pattison was to blame for the substandard meal in front of them. Her twin brother was glaring daggers at the private, and Jack could see, that he was about to enter full overprotective brother mode.

She leaned closer to Reiley, who was keeping an eye on Jeffries, just waiting for the soldier to try something stupid with his sister. "Relax," Jack whispered. "Your sister would kill you if you tried to control her life, so you might as well let her do her own thing."

That seemed to work, and Reiley visibly relaxed until he was dragged into another lecture on mechs by the nerds, which made him tense up again.

On Jack's other side Magnus was trying hard to convince a geeky-looking kid in lab clothes, that his biotic amps were working just fine, and that there was no reason for them to service them.

The Ascension Project students, especially the older ones, had always had a special status at Grissom Academy, and Magnus was no exception. If anything, he had become the most famous of all of them, with the exception of Prangley perhaps. Rumors about the kid with no powers had spread widely, thanks in large part to Thomas Snow, who had been publically ridiculing Magnus whenever he had the chance. Of course her boyfriend detested the attention, whether it was sympathic or the opposite. He just wanted to be like the others.

Even Froeberg's crew had heard about Magnus, and naturally, they were convinced that his problems could be solved if only he would allow them to take a look at his implants.

"For the last time. I am not letting you calibrate my amplifiers, Mr. Vicenzo," Magnus told a particularly pushy scientist in a stern voice. Vicenzo huffed, pouted and crossed his arms like a fucking child, and Jack shook her head in amusement. _Curious bastards, these scientists!_

The students, Prangley in particular, had insisted that they shouldn't take another day off, and Jack decided to put them through some cardio training, and so, after lunch a slightly disappointed Seanne had to say goodbye to Private Jeffries, while the rest of the students seemed happy to get away from the nerds.

Even Kahlee, who actually understood most of their mumbo jumbo, visibly relaxed when they came back to Ascension Hall and far away from Froeberg and his students.

"I actually miss the combat engineers. At least they didn't bore you to death," she said, entering the gym with Jack and her students.

Jack nervously looked at Prangley, but he seemed to be coping fine with the mention of his fiancée's department. Perhaps he was already recovering.

* * *

_A/N:_

_A lot of fluff in this chapter. I know._

_There were a couple of things I needed to continue with from last chapter, and I wanted to spend some more lines explaining the emptyness of the academy._

_The next chapter will probably be sort of a segway, and then I'm going to go completely nuts. Feel free to try and guess what I'm going to do :) (I might even tell ya, if you get it right)_

_As always I'd love to hear your thoughts. Just please don't say that this chapter is fluffy and doesn't really take us further into the story than we were at the end of the last one. I know. It's 95 % fluff._

_If that's not your sort of thing, I'm sorry. As I said, chapter 28 is going to be fucking insane. A Little patience is all I'm asking for :)_

_You guys rock!_

_- Simon_


	27. Drifting

Chapter Twenty-Seven – Drifting

**3 weeks after the evacuation of Jon Grissom Academy.**

"Would you please, please, PLEASE get rid of that thing?"

"Nope."

"Please!"

"Nope."

"I can't take you seriously with that fucking thing on your lip!" Prangley desperately begged, forcing down the last of his horrible breakfast.

"It's not coming off, so you might as well quit," Kurt laughed and used his thumb and index finger to stroke the blond moustache that had made his upper lip its home.

"I have to agree with Prangley," Jack said. "Your face looks ridiculous enough without the pubes."

"You're just sorry that Charles can't grow a moustache like mine," Kurt countered. "I think you like it."

Charles huffed. He was pretty certain that he could grow a moustache if he wanted to, but for now he was shaving every day to keep his face nice and smooth. Kurt's newly acquired facial hair was unlikely to change that. His fair-haired friend was taking a lot of abuse, since he had decided to sprout a moustache.

"Hah," Jack snorted. "It looks like your face is being raped by an albino slug. If Magnus ever decided to grow anything even slightly resembling that shit, I would kill him on the spot."

Charles felt a lump in his throat and swallowed.

Jack noticed this and laughed. "Relax mister, I'd be doing you a fucking favor. Death is preferable to looking like _that_!"

Vera had diplomatically decided not to comment on her best friend's new look, but Charles could tell that she wasn't crazy about it either. Charles had also decided not to say anything. Mostly because he thought that Kurt's moustache made him even funnier to be around. Now he looked like he acted. Ridiculously.

The twins were with Prangley and Jack, but they had given up on changing Kurt's mind a long time ago.

Clearly, he still wasn't going to shave.

"The stash is staying," Kurt said firmly, crossing his arms, daring the others to try to convince him otherwise.

They didn't bother. It was obviously a lost cause.

Orion Hall was empty apart from the six biotic students and their instructor, and everything they said echoed off the walls. It made their conversation sound like they were doing something a bit more official or ceremonial than discussing facial hair. Charles thought it sounded a bit like when his parents had taken him to church once. The priest's voice had echoed there as well.

Charles smiled to himself, thinking about how Jack talking about pubes had actually been comparable to a priest speaking in church, at least in the way her voice sounded. He'd much rather hear Jack talk about pubic hair all day than spend an hour at church though. His parents had never really succeeded in trying to convert him.

"We need a name," Kurt suddenly said, his voice echoing as well.

"What do you mean?" Charles asked. "Who needs a name?"

"Us!" the blond said, "we need like a team name!"

"We're the Ascension Project's advanced class," Vera reminded him.

"Pfff… That's not very exciting, is it?"

"What are you thinking?" Jack laughed, "the A-team?"

"Possibly," Kurt shrugged. "As long as it's cool!"

"And why would we need a cool name?" Charles asked. He was getting curious as to where Kurt was going with this.

"If we're going to be an awesome biotic squad, we might as well have a cool name," Kurt said excitedly.

Prangley jumped up on his chair and made a heroic pose. "We could be known as… _The Wicked Ascension Team!_"

Kurt immediately copied his pose and mysterious voice. "Or… _The Invincible Teenage Squad!"_

Charles quickly caught on to what the two others were doing, and he stood up on his chair, making the same stupid superman pose. "We could be… _Badass Organisation Of Biotic Students_!"

"Ughh, you boys are such perverts," Vera sighed, shaking her head in disgust.

The twins looked at her curiously. "Those are shitty names," Reiley said, "but how does that make them perverts?"

Rodriguez gave Charles, Kurt and Prangley dark glares and turned to the twins. "I think your sister will agree that _T.W.A.T.,_ _T.I.T.S_. and _B.O.O.B.S_. aren't really proper names for our little squad."

Immediately Reiley, Jack, Charles, Kurt and Prangley started laughing harder than they had in ages, while Seanne looked shocked when she realized how the boys had been trying to create dirty team acronyms.

"Perverts," Seanne muttered, but she and Vera had to laugh as well when Kurt actually fell down from his chair, laughing all the way.

"Maybe we should just wait for our little team to become legendary and have our fans come up with a name," Reiley suggested, and everybody else agreed, that the naming was best left up to the 'fans'.

Thirty minutes later Charles and his classmates were on their way to the shuttle docking station, where Jack had asked them to assemble. After breakfast, she had sent them back to their rooms to pick up their armors, and threatened them with all sorts of nasty things if they didn't meet her at the docking station at the appointed time.

Fortunately, the students had secretly been practicing getting their new armors on as quickly as possible, and it was not a problem for them to make it to the shuttles in time.

The armors were sponsored by the Alliance, but some of the plating had been stripped off the usual models to make them lighter and more suitable for the biotics, who required a little more freedom and range of motion than the average Alliance marine.

Lieutenant Sanders had personally overseen the design of the suits, and besides the few tweaks she had also had them painted in the same dark red colors of their school uniforms. On the chest, where the Alliance Navy logo usually was, Sanders had made sure, that the suits had been decorated with the Ascension Project logo instead. Charles was proud to wear the armor, even prouder than he was to wear their everyday school uniforms. Wearing an actual combat suit made him feel a little cooler, and all the state-of-the-art features made it feel like a playground. This was the first time since Sanders had presented them with the armors, that they were actually going to wear them, but Charles had been unable to keep his hands off his new toy, and he had been maintaining it vigorously, even though it was, literally, as good as new.

His armor could not possibly have been any shinier, but he was still rubbing the golden "A"-logo on the chest plate every night before bedtime. Jack thought he was crazy. She wasn't really interested in any of the gadgets either. Charles was chocked, when he learned, that she only rarely put on any sort of armor when she fought.

With the ability to put up a barrier as strong as hers, he guessed armor wasn't really needed.

Charles, on the other hand, had become very interested in the many features integrated in his new armor. The helmet alone had built-in binoculars, vid-cam, radio and a brand new aiming assistance tool provided by Kassa Fabrication.

"It still feels a little weird to wear this," Kurt complained, as the six students made their way across Orion Hall, heading towards the shuttle dock.

_"At least the helmet covers the fucking moustache…" _Prangley dryly said to Charles on a private radio channel.

_"Roger that," _Charles snickered. It was making him happy, that Prangley had begun to make jokes again. The three first weeks without his fiancée had been excruciatingly tough on the big guy, but he was slowly adjusting to life without Sophia, and was often heard talking about, how awesome it was going to be, when the two of them were brought back together again. He had even started to discuss the details of the wedding with Vera, who was more than happy to offer her assistance on that particular issue.

Jack was already waiting for them in the shuttle docking area. She was wearing her own armor, but she had kept the helmet off. It was tucked under her arm.

Next to her, Lieutenant Sanders was proudly watching her students line up in the suits she had helped design.

"Helmets off!" Jack ordered, but sighed, when Kurt did as he was told. "Not you, Moustache. You can keep yours on."

"Jack…" Sanders said warningly, not accepting the instructor's abuse of a single student because of the way he looked.

"Fuck me," Jack muttered quietly. "Get your fucking helmet off, Nielsen…. And get a shave!"

Sanders shook her head in resignation. Taming Jack was a merciless task, and Charles was impressed that the head director hadn't yet written it off as a lost cause.

"Aren't you curious why you've been asked to show up in your uniforms?" Sanders excitedly asked the six students.

Vera shrugged and answered on behalf of everyone. "Actually, ma'am, at this point, we just sort of go with it."

"I'm a little curious," Seanne admitted, fiddling with the helmet in her hands.

"Have any of you ever done an EVA?" Sanders asked.

Prangley immediately raised his hand.

"What's an EVA?" Charles asked, feeling stupid, when he apparently was the only one, who didn't know.

"Extra-Vehicular Activity," Vera patiently explained. "Space walking."

"No, haven't done that," Charles said, offering her a thankful nod.

"Few have," Sanders said. "Most ordinary people don't really have a reason to walk around in space. Alliance soldiers are not even trained to do it. Unless they want to be officers, of course."

"Why have you done it, Prangley?" Jack asked.

"My uncle does… did… outside repairs at the Laika Space Station. I helped him out during the holiday last year," Prangley proudly answered.

"Alright," Jack said and started pacing back and forth in front of her class. "Maybe you'll have an easier time today then, 'cause we're going to practice zero-G combat."

"Yes!" Prangley cheered and punched the air in excitement.

Jack ignored him and continued. "This is obviously a hazardous exercise, but since you want to take on the biggest threat that the galaxy has ever seen, there's not really any reason for us to be pussyfooting around the dangerous stuff just because you poor babies might hurt yourselves."

"Please take care of each other out there," Sanders chimed in, sounding much more worried about their health than Jack.

After a short safety instruction performed by the head director (while Jack looked on in boredom), the students put their helmets back on, secured them tightly and checked the seals. Feeling confident that his suit was absolutely air tight, Charles moved with Jack and the other students to the gate.

As soon as he had stepped into the gate, the doors shut themselves behind him.

"_Matching interior pressure with Elysium Exosphere," _a cold, mechanical female voice said, and Charles' helmet automatically brought up the heads-up display, which indicated a steady pressure drop and a significant decrease in temperature as well.

_"Activate your magnets!"_ Jack said in the radio, causing Charles to jump. It sounded like she was standing right next to him, whispering into his ear.

She was referring to the magnetic function that was built into his boots, securing that he would be less likely to just drift away as soon as the outer gate was opened. He quickly did as she said.

Lieutenant Sanders' voice was the next to come on the radio:

_"If something happens and you lose contact with the station, please do not panic. Just call me on the radio, and I will be there to pick you up in a shuttle."_

Charles laughed nervously. He couldn't imagine himself keeping his cool, if he was floating around in space, completely unable to do anything about it. It wasn't that he didn't trust Sanders to save his life, but he still hoped that he would be able to keep his magnetic boots on the surface of the station.

_"Depressurization complete,"_ the VI announced, and the outer gate opened.

Jack immediately marched to the edge, placed one foot out over the edge and allowed her body to tilt forward until she was lying horizontally in the air with her boots against the outer wall of Jon Grissom Academy. Without hesitation, she began to stroll down the wall. It looked incredibly surreal from where Charles was standing. He leaned over the edge as far as he dared and saw that Jack was still walking down the wall, further and further away from him.

Prangley was the next to step over the edge, and as soon as his boots had connected with the outside wall of the station, he was able to follow their instructor.

Not wanting to be left behind, Charles stepped a little closer to the edge, and looked down into the infinite abyss. The gravity, that he had become used to on Earth and on the inside of Grissom Academy, was a very difficult thing for his mind to overcome. He just couldn't convince his shaking nerves that he wasn't going to fall into infinity if he took that step over the edge.

He looked over the edge one more time and noticed that his fingers were trembling.

_"What's the holdup?" _Jack asked sharply, causing Charles to almost lose his balance and tip over the edge involuntarily.

_"Your man has knees like medi-gel," _Kurt, who was standing right behind Charles, laughed.

_"No man of mine has knees like medi-gel," _Jack retorted, just as Charles took a deep breath, closed his eyes and took a step forward, expecting to feel himself plunging into emptiness.

Fortunately, microgravity wasn't like the gravity that Charles was used to, and instead of falling down like he half expected, he simply tipped forward until was standing on the outside of the station. His armored boots worked like a charm, keeping him from floating away from the others.

"Shit," Charles said to himself as he took the first hesitant step forward. The feeling of having your feet magnetically fastened to the 'ground' while moving around in zero-G was unlike anything he had ever experienced.

Shortly after, the entire class was walking around on the outside surface of Grissom Academy.

Jack had asked them to simply walk around, just so they could get a feel for it. They all went for a stroll to the other side of the station, following Jack like she was a duck mother waddling along with her ducklings in tow. She would probably hate that metaphor though.

The planet of Elysium slowly came into view as they began to move to the other side, and sighs of awe was heard on the radio, as the students took in the sight of the blue and white planet they were currently orbiting with a speed of more than 30.000 kilometers per hour.

Elysium, which was mostly covered in snow and ice, was more than 500 kilometers away, but it actually looked like it was just within Charles' reach. Looking at a planet while on foot, being in space and not inside a vehicle or a space station was beyond incredible and quite possibly one of the coolest and most beautiful experiences Charles had ever had. He had dreamt of going to space for a long time, but he had never been able to imagine how it would actually be like. Now that he was here, he knew that whatever his imagination could ever have come up with, it would never trump the real thing.

Even though he had been living on a space station for quite some time now, it didn't feel like he was _really _in space. For security reasons Grissom Academy had very few viewports, and it was easy to forget, that he was actually several thousand light years away from Earth.

_"Let's get going with the combat training," _Prangley's impatient voice pleaded on the radio, and Charles became slightly irritated. He wanted to just stand around and look at his surroundings some more. He had just noticed that the local star, Vetus, seemed a lot whiter than the sun he knew from Earth.

_"Right," _Jack agreed. _"Are you feeling fairly confident in how to move around effectively?"_

Charles wasn't really feeling that confident yet, but none of the others said anything, and so, neither did he.

Jack pointed to the far end of the station, where a communications tower stood. With a few simple words she commenced their first exercise of the day:

_"Foot race. Go!"_

Before Charles could even register what she meant, Prangley and Kurt had already taken off in direction of the towering comm module with Vera and the twins hot in their heels.

Charles looked at Jack and got a feeling that she was laughing at him from behind her tinted visor.

_"You better move your ass, stud. You don't wanna to fail this class, do ya?" _she said to him on a private channel.

_"No, ma'am," _Charles cheekily replied and gave her a perfect salute, knowing fully well that she hated that shit.

Running in zero-G was hard, even with the magnetic boots, and Charles was stumbling along the surface of the academy, trying to figure out how to move most effectively.

It seemed like Seanne was doing even worse than him though, because he quickly caught up with her and overtook her. Reiley and Vera weren't far ahead either, but Prangley and Kurt would be impossible to catch.

Suddenly Charles felt his right foot pushing off the 'ground', but instead of being held close to the surface by his boots, he continued to soar upwards from the momentum he had created. He completely forgot about Lieutenant Sanders telling them not to panic if they started to drift off. It was impossible not to. The feeling off simply floating away in zero-G and not being able to control himself or his surroundings in any way was terrifying.

"Help!" he yelled.

Charles looked down at his boots, wondering why the magnets had suddenly stopped working. Under his feet, slowly disappearing further and further away, he could see the place where he had lost contact with the space station. He instantly knew why his magnetic boots had failed him. He had tried to run across one of the station's few large viewports, which of course weren't made of metal.

_"What the fuck are you doing, Magnus?" _Jack yelled into his ear.

"I tried to run across a window," Charles embarrassedly explained, trying to keep the fear out of his voice. "Can I get some help, please?"

_"Be right there," _Sanders softly said, while Charles could hear scattered laughs between his classmates. Apparently, he hadn't really succeeded in trying not to sound like someone who was scared shitless.

Charles continued to drift further and further away from Grissom Academy until Sanders finally turned up in one of the remaining shuttles.

_"Are you okay there, Ensign Magnus?" _the lieutenant called him over the radio.

"I'm fine," Charles assured her, pulling his weightless body into the shuttle and strapping himself in.

Minutes later they returned to where Jack was waiting with the other students, and Charles stepped out of the shuttle, feeling pretty damn embarrassed about being the only one in need of the head director's pick-up service.

_"Nice trip?" _Jack teasingly asked as he joined his classmates.

"Wonderful," he played along.

Not surprisingly, Prangley had won the footrace, but Kurt made sure that everybody knew, that he had become a close second.

Vera had also done well, while the twins both needed some more time to get used to the microgravity. They hadn't lost contact with the station though.

_"What would be an effective biotic attack, when we're fighting in a zero-G environment like this?" _Jack asked her class, bringing the lesson back on track.

_"Something that affects gravity," _Seanne answered.

_"Like what?" _Jack asked.

_"Simply lifting the enemy away from the surface should do it," _Kurt suggested._ "You could hit them with a throw or something like that and Bob's your uncle."_

_"Well well," _Jack said, clearly impressed. _"If I didn't know better, I would say that you've been reading ahead, Nielsen. Are you finally starting to take things seriously?"_

_"That moustache is pure maturity," _Prangley joked.

_"Ha ha ha," _Kurt made a fake laugh in Prangley's direction, and with a quick flick of his wrist, the larger man was covered in a blue light, which seemed to cancel out the effect of his magnetic boots, and Prangley slowly started to float away.

Lieutenant Sanders was already revving up the shuttle, but Jack simply waved her hand and pulled Prangley back down.

_"Well done, Nielsen,"_ Jack said, patting him condescendingly on the helmet. _"Actually I was going to ask you to practice doing just that."_

For the last hour of the lesson, Prangley, Vera and Kurt took turns sending each other floating off towards interplanetary space. Sanders was watching them closely, making sure that they remembered to pull each other back down as well.

Charles, Seanne and Reiley used the time to become a little more used to moving around in their magnetic boots and the low gravity. After a little while Jack ordered the twins to start practicing with the others, and walked over to where Charles was testing out different styles of running to find out which worked better under these conditions.

_"You're getting better," _she noted on a private channel, putting her hands on her hips.

"Thanks," Charles said and stopped next to her.

_"I love having these suits on and talking to someone on a private radio channel," _Jack said.

"Why?" Charles asked, wondering what was so special about that.

_"If you turn off the speakers you could stand in the middle of a large group of people and talk dirty to each other, and they would never know."_

"Hah," Charles laughed. "That has to be considered improper use of military equipment, don't you think?"

_"Like I give a shit," _Jack simply answered, giving Charles the impression that she would definitely be talking dirty to him later on.

They both turned and looked at the others, who were still busy practicing.

Prangley was in the process of being brought back down by Vera, who had almost managed to knock him so far away that she would be unable to pull him back.

_"It still hurts you, doesn't it?" _Jack suddenly asked. _"Seeing the others use their biotics all the time…"_

"Yes," Charles admitted. "It hurts."

_"There's something I think we need to discuss," Jack said after a little pause._

"You're wondering about how I'm going to be of use when we eventually take on the reapers?" Charles interrupted her. He had been thinking about that himself, but they had avoided speaking about it for a long time.

There was complete silence for a few seconds.

_"Yes," _Jack finally sighed._ "We're trying to avoid the reapers for as long as possible, but there's no way to know when we are gonna have to face them, and if your biotics haven't developed by then, it's just too dangerous."_

"So what are you saying?" Charles asked. "Are you kicking me off the team?"

_"No," _Jack assured him. _"But I won't have a choice if your biotics haven't kicked into action when we take on the reapers. Even if you get some control over your powers, you will have practically zero experience. It's highly unlikely that you will be combat effective immediately."_

"So you _are_ kicking me off the team!" Charles hissed angrily.

_"It's not safe," _Jack argued. _"Neither for you or the rest of us."_

"Fuck that," Charles spat. "Loads of soldiers fight in this war. Not all of them have biotic powers. I can take care of myself!"

_"Well, I'm not letting you," _Jack bit back._ "You don't have the training that real soldiers have, so it's not the same thing."_

"And what would you have me do while the rest of you run around wrestling reapers with your awesome powers?" Charles shouted, completely ignoring the fact that Jack was receiving his voice on the radio, as if he was talking directly into her ear. "I can't exactly just go home to my parents, can I?"

_"Sanders and I are trying to figure something out," _Jack said.

Charles felt like he had two emotions waging war on each other inside him. On one hand, he was incredibly angry with Jack for making this decision for him. Didn't she know how much it already pained him to be different from the others? How could she use that against him? Wasn't she supposed to support him? What angered him the most was that Jack apparently had been discussing this with Sanders without even mentioning it to him. It wasn't like his lack of biotic ability had come as a surprise to her. So why hadn't she talked to him about this earlier?

On the other hand he felt heartbroken at just the thought of sending his girlfriend off to war with all his friends. It was an unbearable thought. Imagining himself going to war was already giving him severe nightmares, but leaving Jack and his friends in the hands of the reapers was simply too much, even if it meant that he could sit around in peaceful surroundings while the others were suffering on the battlefields of the galaxy. Besides his beloved parents, Jack, his five classmates and possibly Lieutenant Sanders were the only people he really cared about. Mostly because they were the only ones who cared about him. Though, apparently not enough to let him decide his own fate.

He could feel the tears running down his face and was thankful that his helmet had a tinted visor. He didn't want Jack to see him crying right now. Without another word he turned on his heel and walked away from her. Shaking with anger and desperation, he started to sprint back and forth as fast as his limited zero-G experience allowed.

He was relieved that Jack didn't follow him or tried to talk to him in any way. He didn't want to scream at her, which he knew would be hard to resist if they continued their argument. The pain of learning that she was essentially breaking up with him to fight the reapers with the rest of the class was getting stronger and stronger all the time, and he certainly couldn't handle talking about it right now.

Just a few minutes later, Jack angrily announced that she had had enough of space walking, and she ended the lesson by yelling at her students for not being quick enough to get back to the shuttle dock, so they could get back inside.

While the pressurization process ended, the students had begun discussing how awesome their first lesson in zero-G combat had been. Charles didn't take any part in that. In his opinion it was the worst lesson ever.

Lieutenant Sanders asked them to take off their armors and leave them in the docking area so she could run some performance tests to see how they had held up. The students quickly took off their suits until they were left standing in their usual uniforms. As soon as everybody was ready, they made for Orion Hall.

Not surprisingly, the biotics were quite hungry. They had used large amounts of energy manipulating with gravity, and everybody settled in Orion Hall, no doubt planning to eat a shitload of the soldiers' crappy food. Charles wasn't the least bit interested in that. He just wanted to get away from everyone.

He simply continued walking right through Orion Hall, not even looking back when Kurt called out to him, asking if he didn't want a bite to eat.

Charles was pleased that the others didn't try to stop him. He didn't want to talk to anyone.

Finally, he arrived at his room where he quickly made sure to lock his door and block all calls to his intercom. Charles just wanted to be left alone.

His doorbell rang many times during that afternoon, but Charles ignored it every time. It didn't matter if it was Jack, Sanders or any of the others. They could all kiss his ass. He wasn't going to be a part of the team anyway, and Jack had gone from being his girlfriend to just being his instructor again. Why should he worry about what they had to say to him. He bet that the rest of the students all knew, that Jack and Sanders had decided to drop him from the team, and his heart ached when he thought about all the times where they could have talked to him about it.

He was just lying on his bed, crying softly into his pillow and begging his body to go to sleep, so he could stop thinking about Jack's words.

If only his biotics had worked by now, they wouldn't have this problem at all. He knew it was idiotic, but he started to blame himself for not actively doing more to develop his powers. It didn't make sense to blame himself though. There was absolutely no evidence saying that biotics could force their powers to be functional earlier than they were supposed to. He had read about using red sand and minagen-X3 to enhance biotic capability, but the effects were only temporary and both substances were highly illegal and extremely dangerous. In his current state, he almost wished that he had given them a try though.

After many, many painfully awake hours, he finally drifted off to sleep. Fully clothed he lay on his bed, and for the first night in many weeks, he fell asleep without Jack in his arms.

* * *

_A/N:_

_Oh nooo... Kicked off the team by your own girlfriend. I guess that's why you shouldn't date your superior._

_Let me know what you think :)_

_Took the last exam for this semester last Friday, which means that I will have much more time to write in the time ahead. It's still going to be a while before I can post the next chapter though, but that's only because I'm expecting it to be quite long._

_In this chapter I started to get a little scientific at some points. Most of it should be in line with reality or the ME universe. If it isn't, let's just say that it's a science fiction story and cut me a little slack, eh?_

_I love to get your reviews, and some of you are very good at pointing out the specific things that you would like me to work with or improve and for that I am very grateful. I don't have many readers, but I may have the best :)_

_A little teaser for the next chapter:_

_It's going to be BIG, and I might do some things that (potentially) could piss of some of you, but let's see about that. It should definitely be something to look forward to, and I hope you are excited about it. I sure am._

_Enjoy the beginning of summer for those of you on the Northern hemisphere (do I have any readers from the Southern?)_

_I will try not to read too much and do some writing of my own during the Holiday._

_Till next time... Take it easy, folks_


	28. Under Siege

Chapter Twenty-Eight – Under Siege

Charles woke up and looked around a little confused. He couldn't figure out why he was waking up in his own room instead of Jack's. He looked to his left and right and was surprised not to find his girlfriend on either side of him. He couldn't remember the last time he had woken up without Jack.

He noticed that he was fully clothed in his school uniform and suddenly remembered that he wasn't actually with Jack anymore. She had decided to kick him off the team, so she could fight the reapers with the rest of his mates, while he was left to rot. She hadn't said out loud, that their relationship was over, but in Charles' head, she might as well have. Apparently, she didn't need him as much as he was convinced that he needed her.

From the moment he had woken up, his room was filled with an infernal screeching noise. Initially, he thought it to be the alarm clock function on his intercom, and he ordered it to stop.

"I'm up," he told the voice controlled system.

Nothing happened.

"System. Shut down."

Still nothing.

"Snooze then."

It didn't have any effect on the noise.

"Shut up, stupid machine!" Charles growled and got out of his bed to manually turn the alarm off.

Even when he pushed the touch screen with his finger, nothing happened, and Charles realized that the noise he was hearing wasn't actually his alarm clock. It was his door bell.

However, Charles was still deeply saddened and in a very foul mood. He still didn't want to talk to Jack, or whoever it was ringing his doorbell. He was planning to stay in his room the entire day. Maybe he could think up some way to get back to his parents. Even though Earth was occupied by reaper forces, going back to his home planet seemed to be the best solution right now. If only there was a way.

"Go away," he sighed, mostly to himself.

Surprisingly, the screeching stopped, as if the person outside his door had actually heard his plea. The noise returned almost immediately though, but Charles wasn't going to give in, just because the person on the outside was being persistent.

He let his body drop back onto his bed and pressed his face into the pillow.

"Please, go away," he begged, his voice muffled by the soft bag full of artificial swan downs.

He simply couldn't bear the thought of another fight with Jack, who was probably the one trying to get in. He hated that he was so angry with her. Logically, he could understand why she didn't want him to be a part of the squad. It was too dangerous for both himself and the others.

But nobody's logical with a broken heart, and Charles couldn't remove the feelings of betrayal and rejection that were growing inside him.

Their relationship was over, and even if Jack was doing the right thing, Charles couldn't see it right now. He certainly wouldn't like to talk about it, and so, he remained in bed, his door remained closed and the person on the outside kept ringing the doorbell in vain.

After another full minute of constant howling from the doorbell, Charles raised his head in wonder. Jack was being extremely stubborn. She must've realized by now, that he wasn't in the mood for discussion, Charles thought.

"Go away!" Charles shouted. He didn't actually think that the person on the outside would be able to hear him though. The sound isolation on Grissom Academy was incredibly effective, which he, Jack and the head director (whose living quarters were very close to Jack's) had been thankful for in the time when Jack and Charles had been spending every night together.

A little while later, the doorbell quieted down, and Charles breathed a sigh of relief.

"I thought she'd never quit."

He couldn't relax for long though, because Jack began to slam something against his door, which made loud, metallic, resonating clanks in his room. The doorbell started howling again as well.

At this point, he was actually too scared to open the door. It sounded like Jack was desperate, and even though he knew that he still loved her, he was also very much aware of her loose temper and uncompromising behavior. It suddenly seemed very realistic that she had come to kill him.

'Fuck, fuck, fuck,' he thought and started to pace back and forth in his room.

If Jack really was planning to kill him, there wasn't really much he could do about it. She was quite possibly the strongest biotic amongst humans, while he was a complete failure, who hadn't even made the team.

"I'm sorry!" he shouted, not knowing if she could hear him and not really knowing what he was apologizing for. Except not having control of his biotic powers, he couldn't think of anything that would make Jack think that this was all his fault.

Jack's mind wasn't always rational though, and Charles being innocent wouldn't necessarily matter much to her. She would probably kill a newborn kitten if it looked at her the wrong way. _And newborn kittens can't even open their eyes!_

The pounding and the continuing whining of the doorbell seemed to be lasting forever, and Charles realized that Jack would only get angrier and angrier the longer she had to stay in the hallway. Maybe he could still talk her out of killing him, if he just let her in.

With his heart beating rapidly, he looked around his room for something he could use as a melee weapon in case Jack couldn't be talked down.

The best he could come up with was his razor and a plastic coat hanger. Not exactly something that would be useful if he had to fight off his ex-girlfriend, so he dropped the idea completely. Even if he had a fully loaded assault rifle he wouldn't be much of a threat to Jack and her barriers, so waving a coat hanger in her face was just a fucking joke.

He mentally prepared himself for the worst. Even for death, if that was what was coming.

Charles stood in front of his door, took one last deep breath and pushed the button to allow Jack inside.

He managed to jump out of the way in the very last second before Prangley torpedoed a fire extinguisher straight into his face. The big guy stumbled forward, caught by surprise when the door suddenly opened. He quickly regained his balance though and shoved Charles back into his room before closing the door behind him.

"WHY THE HELL AREN'T YOU RESPONDING TO YOUR INTERCOM?!" Prangley roared, slamming Charles up against a wall.

Charles almost hyperventilated. He was shocked to see Prangley instead of Jack, and the big guy had forced his way inside so quickly that Charles hadn't actually realized what was going on.

"W-wha…" he stuttered, but Prangley didn't allow him to finish. So he couldn't explain that he had blocked all incoming calls last night.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU OPEN YOUR DOOR, YOU DICK?!"

"I was…"

Prangley interrupted him again by covering his mouth by his giant-sized hand.

Prangley took a few deep breaths to calm himself down, while Charles did the same. He had damn near shat himself when Prangley charged in, thinking that Jack had assigned his talented classmate to do the killing for her.

"What's going on?" Charles asked when Prangley removed his palm from his mouth. His voice was barely a whisper.

Prangley started rummaging through Charles' room, looking for something. He continued to throw nervous looks at the door, as he pulled clothes out of the closet.

"We have to go!" Prangley frantically repeated over and over again. "Do you have a gun?"

"Why would I have a gun? And where are we going?"

"We're under attack!" Prangley hissed. Apparently he had realized that looking for a gun in Charles' room didn't really make sense.

"Under attack?"

"Yeah," Prangley said, making sure that Charles' door was securely locked. "I was going for breakfast in Orion Hall when I saw them."

"Who?"

"Cerberus," Prangley said in a dark tone. "They didn't see me, so I hurried back to get you."

"What do we do?" Charles asked. He couldn't see what Cerberus wanted with Grissom Academy. He knew a little about the organization, but not much. He knew that they were working for the advance of the human race, which sounded great in theory, but he learned early on, that they were not above using horrible methods including terrorist acts to achieve their goals. After meeting Jack, he had learned a lot more about Cerberus. He knew that they were responsible for Jack's horrendous childhood and that their leader was a 'racist, child-molesting, cock-sucking motherfucker' called Tim, which seemed like an odd name for someone so nasty and evil. Apparently, Tim was also the one who had brought Commander Shepard back from the dead, which Charles appreciated just as much as everyone else. Jack, however, would rather give Miranda Lawson the honor for Shepard's resurrection, which clearly indicated how deeply she detested this guy Tim.

"Standard emergency procedure is to assemble in Orion Hall," Prangley, who had lived on the station for many years, explained. "That's probably where the others are.

"But wandering around in the corridors is not going to be safe," Charles protested.

"Which is why I'm trying to find us a pistol," Prangley said. "But I guess your bedroom is not the place to look for that kind of thing."

"Have you seen Ja… any of the others?" Charles asked, avoiding Jack's name, like saying it would cause him physical harm.

"I haven't seen your girlfriend," Prangley said. "Or any of the others for that sake."

"She's not my girlfriend anymore," Charles mumbled in a defeated tone. "But I guess you knew that?"

"No," Prangley said. "Why would I know that?"

"She kicked me off the team," Charles said, trying his hardest not to break into tears. "I thought she told you guys about it?"

"No," Prangley sighed. "No, she didn't. I'm sorry, man."

Charles accepted the comforting shoulder patting from Prangley and walked back over to his door. He didn't have any idea what Cerberus was doing here, and he had a hard time determining how dangerous it would be to try and make it to Orion Hall, but he knew that he had to. He had to find Jack. He wanted her to know that he loved her, and there was no way that he was going to accept her decision.

"I should probably go first," Prangley suggested, stepping in front of Charles. "You know... Biotics."

"Sure," Charles said, having no problem with allowing Prangley to be the first one to step out into the hallway.

They both took a deep breath and looked at each other.

Prangley nodded at him.

"Let's do this."

Charles unlocked and opened the door, and Prangley peeked out into the hallway. His curled fists were already filling up the room with an electric blue light.

The hallway was empty, and the two students snuck out and started to make their way towards Orion Hall as stealthily as possible.

Suddenly, the station-wide loudspeakers screeched and a heavily accented male voice started speaking. Charles and Prangley hid in an alcove and listened to the voice, which gave both of them the creeps.

_"Students of Grissom Academy! This is Cerberus Commander Leopold Dirus. We are not here to harm you. We are here to save you. We understand that you are scared. Your teachers have filled your heads with lies and propaganda. But Cerberus can keep you safe, we are the only ones who can."_

"Hah," Prangley snorted. "The Illusive Man is one to talk about lies and propaganda."

"The Illusive man?" Charles asked, but then made the connection himself. "Ahhh, TIM."

"Yup," Prangley said and lead Charles further on down the hallway.

_"You are the best humanity has to offer. Cerberus can give you the tools you need to reach your full potential," _Commander Dirus proclaimed over the loudspeakers. His tone of voice was so sweet, it was sickening.

Charles and Prangley rounded a corner, but immediately jumped back. They could see through a glass window and into an auditorium, where five Cerberus soldiers had cornered one of the tech students that had stayed behind with Professor Froeberg. The young girl looked horrified and was screaming her lungs out, until one of the soldiers poked her with some sort of electrical stunning device, and she passed out immediately.

"What should we do?" Charles said.

"They're taking her alive," Prangley noted. "We should stay hidden. Maybe we can save her later. When we find the others and some weapons."

Charles felt bad about staying in cover, while the five soldiers dragged the unconscious girl away, but he didn't see how getting caught himself would be of any help to her.

_"The Alliance has failed you. Earth has fallen. Cerberus is your only hope."_

"I'm getting tired of this guy already," Prangley whispered. "Let's get going."

The two Ascension Project students were on the move again and heading towards Orion Hall, but to their great disappointment, Commander Dirus didn't stop his ranting. Instead he began to call out to the students individually.

_"Seanne and Reiley Bellarmine. Your family members miss you. Cerberus can help you to be reunited with them. Your little sister Carola really wants you to come back home. If you allow us to help you with your further education, we can make her wish come true."_

Dirus went on to try and persuade some of Froebergs students to surrender peacefully and then went back to the biotics. He mentioned both of Vera's parents by name, saying that they had been in contact with Cerberus, asking them to bring their daughter home.

_"Your girlfriend Maria misses you, Kurt Nielsen," _Dirus continued. _"You two have been apart for such a long time now, and Maria has many young men much nearer to her, and they would all like to take your place at her side."_

Charles sincerely hoped that his friends weren't going to fall for Cerberus' attempts to lure them in. Everything he knew about the organization told him that they couldn't be trusted. Seeing the soldiers stunning and dragging off one of the tech students hadn't done anything to make him trust them more.

_"Charles Magnus," _Dirus called out, making Charles' stomach tighten. He knew this was coming, but it still made him shiver that the Cerberus commander was speaking directly to him.

_"My dear Charles," _Dirus sweetly continued. _"We know about your situation. Cerberus can help you. We have ways to assist biotics that the Alliance doesn't even know about. They will never be able to give you what you need. We know your true potential, and it can be brought out, but we are the only ones who can help you. If you let us, we can help you to achieve greatness. With your help, Cerberus will be able to retake Earth. You will be able to see your parents again, but only if you come with us. Do you really trust the Alliance with the lives of your parents?"_

"Don't listen to him," Prangley said. "He's trying to get to you."

"I know," Charles said. "I know."

It wasn't that easy though. Cerberus was promising him two of the things that he wanted most in life: The guaranteed safety of his parents and full access to his biotic abilities. If Jack hadn't spent so much time warning them about the organization, he might have been tempted to take Dirus' offer. Jack, however, had very calmly informed them, that she would personally put an end to their lives if she even heard talk about as much as sympathizing with Cerberus. Charles didn't doubt for one second, that she meant it, but even if Jack hadn't made this threat, he doubted that he would have joined Cerberus either way.

Prangley was the last student to be addressed by Dirus.

_"Mr. Jason Prangley. You are incredibly talented and you have the ability to lead. Cerberus has been watching your development for years, and The Illusive Man wants to offer you a position as a junior officer within our organization. With our help, your possibilities are endless."_

"No thanks, asshole," Prangley growled.

_"We know about your recent engagement, Jason. Cerberus can help you to protect your young fiancée. Don't allow the lies you've heard about us to cloud your judgment. Isn't it worth bending your morals a little, if doing so ensures the safety of your beloved Sophia?"_

"I can damn well keep my woman safe without the help of terrorists," Prangley shouted angrily, before Charles was able to shush him.

Charles sighed and Prangley apologized for revealing their position.

Almost immediately, they started hearing footsteps and Charles took cover behind a corner while Prangley stepped out into the middle of the hallway.

Three Cerberus assault troopers came running round the corner and aimed their pistols at Prangley, who lifted his hands in surrender.

"Good morning, boys," he said, smiling at the three soldiers, while Charles kept out of sight.

"What's your name?" one of the Cerberus men shouted, taking a few steps closer to Prangley, still keeping his aim on the student.

Prangley gave them his name, keeping his hands in the air.

"Are you going to cooperate, son?" another assault trooper asked.

"Depends…" Prangley said mysteriously. "Does The Illusive Man really have a job for me?"

"Yes," the first Cerberus soldier said and nodded. "We have been monitoring you for many years, and our boss wants you badly."

"How's the pay?" Prangley asked.

"For you? Exquisite, I bet," the man said. "So, are you coming with us?"

"Sure," Prangley said, flashing them his most charming smile.

'No!' Charles thought, pressing his body closer to the wall. 'What are you doing, Prangley?'

"We still have to put you in these," the Cerberus group leader said, holding up a pair of handcuffs.

"Fair enough," Prangley said, holding out his hands in front of him.

The Cerberus trooper holstered his pistol and  
stepped up to Prangley with the cuffs in hand. The student gave him a reassuring smile and held his hands further forward.

One cuff was placed over Prangley's left wrist and locked tightly, but just as his right wrist was about to be trapped as well, Prangley pulled it back.

"Don't do something you'll regret, kid," the Cerberus soldier warned him.

"Don't worry," Prangley said, putting on a big fat smile. "I'll never regret this."

In an explosion of blue light, Prangley moved his hand forward towards the Cerberus leader, and the soldier was sent flying backwards, where he knocked over his two comrades. Prangley was over them like a lion on a sick gazelle. The leader had been knocked out cold by the initial blow, or maybe it had actually killed him. Charles couldn't tell from his cover.

The other two were rolling around on the floor, trying to get back up, but Prangley ended that by lifting them up with his biotics and smashing them together until their bodies became completely limp.

Charles rushed out from his cover as soon as the coast was clear. When he got closer to the three soldiers, they were clearly all dead.

"Wow," he sighed. "I thought you were going to go with them for a second there."

"Nah," Prangley said. "I like being one of the good guys."

"Y-you've killed them!" Charles stuttered.

"Looks like it," Prangley said, glancing at the three bodies and shrugging. "Jack would be _so _proud."

"Well," Charles snickered, "she might deduct points for allowing them to put a bracelet on you." He pointed to the handcuffs that were dangling from Prangley's left wrist.

"Probably," Prangley agreed, took the keys from the dead Cerberus leader and removed the handcuffs.

"We should take their weapons," Charles said, walked over to the nearest assault trooper and rolled the body over with his foot.

He bent down and took the two extra thermal clips from his belt. Then he found the poor guy's pistol on the floor a few meters further down the hall. On the side it read M-5 Phalanx, and this pistol seemed a little bit heavier and more powerful than the M-3 Predator models they were used to.

"Cool, Phalanx," Prangley said, picking up a gun for himself.

"I want to find the others now," Charles said. He was getting worried about Jack and the others. Why hadn't they heard from any of them?

"Let's go," Prangley said, aimed his pistol down the hallway and started walking towards Orion Hall.

Charles stepped over the dead bodies of Prangley's victims and followed his friend, occasionally checking their six for anyone trying to sneak up on them.

They managed to get by a squad of Cerberus troops by taking refuge in a classroom and cutting through a series of medical labs, but when they came back out into the main hallway on the other side; Charles had lost all sense of direction. Grissom Academy was like a giant multi-floored maze, which was making Cerberus' job much harder, but Charles didn't know where he was either.

"Is this the Cepheus Wing?" he asked.

"Yes," Prangley replied in a soft whisper. "It's a bit of a detour, but it would have been too risky to take on an entire squad on our own."

The Cepheus Wing looked exactly like the part of the station where Prangley and Charles lived, which was what made it so hard for Charles to find his way around the academy. Everything looked the same, giving it the feeling of a complicated maze. Luckily, Prangley had lived on the station for over a decade, which made him the perfect guide. Without him, Charles probably wouldn't have made it as far as the Cepheus Wing, and he certainly wouldn't be able to get from there to Orion Hall within a reasonable timeframe.

They didn't spot any Cerberus troops as they began to make their way towards Orion Hall again. Maybe they had already been through this part of the station, or maybe they just hadn't been there yet.

The two students came round a corner, and Prangley, who was walking in front of Charles stopped dead in his tracks. Charles, who had been looking over his shoulder, bumped into him.

"Wha…" he started, but then he looked at the floor of the corridor ahead of them, where two young people in red uniforms lay in a pool of blood. "No!"

Prangley let out a horribly painful howl and ran to the bodies of the two students.

Lying there, looking strangely serene apart from all the blood, were the Bellarmine twins. Their hands were touching the other's, and if it wasn't from their blood-soaked uniforms, it would have looked like they were just sleeping, hand in hand.

"Please," Prangley cried, shaking Seanne's limp body. "Please, wake up!"

"Jason," Charles said and placed his hand softly on his friend's shoulder. "I'm so sorry."

The tears were rolling down Charles' cheeks, and he was having a hard time looking at the bodies of this amazing pair of young twins. At the same time, he couldn't take his eyes off of them. He felt like that would be disrespectful.

These two had been amongst his only friends in the galaxy, they had brilliant careers in front of them, and now they were dead.

The sorrow that Charles felt was nothing compared to Prangley's though. The Bellarmines and Jason Prangley had spent most of their childhoods together in the Ascension Project's basic classes, and they were probably closer to each other than most people were with their siblings. Charles felt like he had to be the one to keep it together in this situation. He had to be there for his friend, allowing him to grieve, but they were still in a lot of danger, and they had to get a move on.

Seeing the dead twins finally knocked the seriousness of the situation into his head. Cerberus hadn't come to play nice.

Prangley was still on his knees, crying and holding the twins with each of his strong arms. His own uniform was getting smeared with their blood, but he didn't even seem to notice. Charles was still wiping the tears from his own eyes, but they were absolute gushing from Prangley's, while he sobbed uncontrollably.

Charles couldn't get himself to say anything to his friend. What could he say?

He knew that they had to go, but Prangley was out of reach right now. He needed the other if they were to have a realistic shot at making it to Orion Hall alive.

"Prangley," he whispered gently, hoping that the other would react.

"Why did they kill them?" Prangley sobbed. "I thought they had come here to take us alive."

Charles looked further down the hall and saw a pile of bodies in Cerberus armor. He pointed this out to Prangley.

"I think Reiley and Seanne told Cerberus to go fuck themselves. They've taken at least ten of those bastards with them. They didn't allow Cerberus to take them alive."

Prangley gave a teary and humorless laugh, proudly hugging his two dead friends.

"I love you guys," he whispered to them before kissing both of their foreheads.

"They were so brave," Charles said, wiping away another tear and pulling Prangley to his feet.

"Unhh," someone groaned from the other end of the hallway where a dozen or so Cerberus troops lay dead. Apparently, one of them had managed to survive Reiley and Seanne's last fight for freedom.

Charles and Prangley immediately sprinted to the place where the sound came from. A Cerberus trooper lay on the floor, panting heavily. It looked like he had been tossed around by the twins, because several of his bones were visibly broken, and he was clearly paralyzed, which probably meant that he had sustained a spinal injury.

Charles raised his pistol. He wanted to revenge the twins, but Prangley pushed him out of the way and grabbed the man by his collar.

"Shooting him is way too quick for what he has done. He doesn't deserve to go that easy."

Normally, Charles would argue that nobody deserved to die in a painful way, but at this moment, his judgment was clouded by pure anger and hatred towards this man and the organization he represented. He was starting to think that Jack had actually been too mild in her critique of Cerberus.

Prangley lifted the soldier up by his collar, using his biotics, so he was able to lift the heavy soldier. He started smashing the man into the wall, again and again. It gave horrible crunching sounds when the few remaining unbroken bones in the soldier's body snapped like twigs.

It scared Charles a little that it gave him so much pleasure to watch this man have every single bones in his body crushed, but he found that he didn't actually feel bad about it. He was only sad that Prangley was the one who got to hand out the punishment instead of him.

Finally, the Cerberus soldier expired from his internal bleedings, and Prangley dropped the sack of broken bones to the floor, where Charles gave it a strangely satisfying kick to the face.

"Let's get a move on," Prangley growled angrily, took his pistol out of the holster and started moving away from the pile of dead Cerberus soldiers.

With one last look back at the bodies of their two classmates, Charles and Prangley rounded a corner and started to move towards Orion Hall again.

The loudspeakers started screeching again, and Charles tensed up, preparing himself to hear more bullshit from Commander Dirus. But it wasn't the Cerberus commander, whose voice was blasted stationwide. It was a much more pleasant and familiar voice.

_"Students! If you can hear me… This is Kahlee Sanders. I am still alive, and I have regained some control of the communications system. You can't trust Cerberus. They are dangerous, and no matter what Dirus says, they are not here to help you. If you are out there… Please, be out there… Just stay safe for a little longer and don't engage Cerberus unless you absolutely have to. Help is on the way."_

"I don't care if she has the entire fifth fleet coming to save us," Prangley growled, "from now on; we kill every motherfucker that gets in our way!"

"Agreed," Charles said, wiping another tear from his eye.

The Jon Grissom Academy had become a very dangerous place to be for the students, and Charles and Prangley really should have been trying to keep their cool. But finding their dead classmates had made that impossible. They were both mourning the twins, but at this moment, the thirst for revenge was even stronger than the pain. If they ran into another Cerberus squad, they wouldn't walk around them or try to hide. Charles was perfectly happy with killing the intruding Cerberus soldiers at this point. All the mercy that he normally would have been to show had been robbed by the deaths of Reiley and Seanne.

The only thing that was heavier on his mind than revenge was the desire to find Jack. Cerberus had proven themselves to be willing and able to do the most horrendous things, and he knew that they had a certain interest in Jack. Dumped or not, Charles still loved her, and he wanted to have her back in his arms. He couldn't bear the thought of losing her.

Every time they peeked around a corner, Charles held his breath, just hoping that he wouldn't see any more of his friends or Jack lying dead in the hallway.

Prangley seemed extremely tense as well. His biotics were flaring uncontrollably, and Charles could actually feel the biotic pulses that his companion was emitting in his own nerves and amps.

They were walking down another corridor, when a classroom door suddenly opened and Cerberus troops poured out into the hallway.

"Shit!" Charles shouted and raised his pistol.

Prangley put up a barrier covering both of them and raised his own Phalanx.

"Hey!" one of the Cerberus assault troopers shouted. "There are two more out here. Red uniforms. So they must be from the Ascension Pro…"

The soldier never got to end his sentence, because Charles squeezed the trigger of his powerful handgun and blew the head clean off the son of a bitch.

Charlez froze. He had just killed a person. For the first time in his life, he had deliberately tried to hurt another human being, and that person was now dead. He felt strangely okay with that. Cerberus had killed two of the only people he had ever been able to call friends, they were responsible for the torture of the woman he loved, and he knew that they would show no mercy towards him. So why should he offer them any?

"They're fighting back!" another Cerberus soldier screamed, when the person in front of him fell to the floor without a head.

"Good!" the leader of the Cerberus squad shouted. "Open fire, God damn it!"

Prangley strengthened the biotic barrier around them, while he and Charles continued to rain bullets down on the Cerberus squad.

They had already managed to kill four of them, but when Charles crouched down to change the thermal clip in his pistol, the Cerberus leader called more men out from the classroom, which meant that the two biotic students were now up against six heavily armed, professional soldiers.

"Fuck!" Prangley shouted and slammed another thermal clip in his own pistol. His barrier was still standing, but it wouldn't take long for the six soldiers to break it down.

Charles was now ready to shoot again, and he quickly managed to take out another two Cerberus soldiers.

The Cerberus leader threw a grenade which immediately started to spew smoke, and it didn't take long before the entire hallway was covered in grey. Charles couldn't see more than a few meters ahead of himself. He panicked and started firing wildly into the smoke.

"Save your ammo!" Prangley shouted, just as another grenade flew towards them, bounced a few times on the floor and landed between the two students. It was beeping quicker and quicker, and this grenade clearly wasn't going to just spew smoke. Prangley reacted quickly and used his biotics to throw the grenade back where it came from. A loud boom was heard, and Charles felt the shockwave in his chest. His ears were ringing for a few seconds, but after that, the hallway was eerily quiet.

The students didn't move until the smoke had cleared out, revealing that the Cerberus squad had been taken out by their own grenade.

"Damn," Charles said. "That was intense!"

"Yeah," Prangley panted and lowered the barrier. Covering himself and Charles at the same time was taking its toll on his energy level.

Just as they were about to move on, they heard the sound of footsteps approaching. The Cerberus squad must have called for backup, or maybe the noise of the battle had attracted more company.

"Fuck," Charles sighed, while Prangley groaned and threw up another barrier.

"I actually wish we had Rodriguez here to maintain this barrier," Prangley admitted. "This is getting tough, and she makes a kickass barrier almost effortlessly."

His complaints were interrupted, as another Cerberus squad appeared at the end of the hallway.

Prangley sent a shockwave down the corridor, scattering their foes before they could get into formation. Charles followed up with a barrage of bullets. It wasn't exactly glorious precision shooting, but he got some good hits in, and together with Prangley, he managed to push the Cerberus squad back.

"They're pulling back!" Charles shouted.

"Oh, hell no!" Prangley roared and used his biotics to pull the fleeing soldiers back towards them, leaving them to float in mid-air, where he and Charles could easily shoot them down.

"Are you okay?" Charles asked Prangley after the last remaining Cerberus soldier had drawn his final breath.

"I'm exhausted," Prangley admitted. He was bent over with his hands on his knees, and he was breathing heavily. "This is _way _different than practice!"

"Do you need a break?" Charles asked. They couldn't really afford wasting any time, but if Prangley burnt out in the middle of a firefight, they would be dead anyway.

"No, I'm good," Prangley said. "But we should try to take them out with our pistols, so we can save the biotics for the defense."

"Alright," Charles said. "Just keep up the good job on the barriers then."

They stripped the dead soldiers of some thermal clips, which caused Charles to gag a few times when they searched the soldiers, who had been blown to pieces by the grenade.

For the next five minutes, they walked without meeting any more Cerberus squads. The silence and emptiness of the station was creeping Charles out. Every muscle in his body tensed when he heard a noise. Most of the time, the noise was just Prangley's boots making squealing sound against the floor. He didn't like that the station had become so quiet. What could that mean?

Had Jack and the others already been killed or captured? Had Cerberus left?

The loudspeakers suddenly beeped, making both of them jump high up into the air.

"Fucking hell," Charles whispered and listened to the message.

_"Students of Grissom Academy. This is Commander Leopold Dirus speaking. You have fought valiantly, but you can still change your minds. Your friends Reiley and Seanne Bellarmine have already surrendered and joined our ranks. They will be safe from the reapers and they will be generously rewarded. We know you are clever, so do the right thing. Do as the Bellarmines."_

"What a dirty, lying bastard!" Prangley roared and punched a locker. "He's trying to use the twins against us!"

"I know," Charles said and tried to pull Prangley with him. They didn't have time to bust up the furniture, just because Dirus was being an asshole.

Prangley relunctantly followed, but only after he had yanked the loudspeaker down from the wall and stomped it to pieces.

A few meters further down the hall they found an elevator and rode it down two floors, putting them on the same floor as Orion Hall.

"Almost there," Prangley noted, as they stepped out of the elevator.

The surroundings were now looking familiar to Charles, and he found that Prangley was correct. They were indeed very close to Orion Hall.

To get from their current position to Orion Hall, they would have to go through the Alan Bean Atrium, or as it was known to the students, The Bean. The Bean wasn't a particularly large atrium, but it was one of the more beautiful parts of the station. Some kids from the biology department had taken it upon themselves to decorate this room with trees, bushes and flowers, which made it feel like some sort of miniature jungle. The Bean even had its own pond, which contained live fish.

When Prangley and Charles arrived at the door leading into The Bean, they found that it was locked. Even from outside, Charles could smell the fragrant flowers in the atrium. This was, apart from Jack's bedroom, his favorite place on the entire station. Of cource, Jack didn't really give a shit about fragrant flowers, and for some odd reason, she hated the jungle feel of The Bean. Prangley had never really taken any interest in the room either, not until he started dating Sophia, who really liked walking around in there.

"This door is never locked," Prangley said, feeling around the entrance to The Bean. "Cerberus probably knows that we're headed for Orion Hall, and they're trying to cut us off."

"What do we do?" Charles asked.

Prangley felt around the door a little more. Apparently, he found what he was looking for, because he took a step back and directed a powerful kick at the wall. After a few more kicks, one of the wall panels came off, revealing a series of pipes and some jumbled wires.

"Do you know how to override a door?" Charles asked skeptically. Prangley had never shown any particular talent in that area.

"Sophia has taught me a few tricks," Prangley said with a proud grin, before turning his attention to the mess of wires in every color imaginable.

After a few minutes, Prangley had used an amount of curse words that would have made Jack proud, and the door was as locked as ever. Charles was starting to doubt that Prangley had paid much attention to whatever Sophia had been trying to teach him.

"Damn it!" Prangley shouted, as whatever he had done caused sparks to fly out of the hole in the wall.

"Are you okay?"

"Peachy," Prangley growled sarcastically.

After another few minutes, he finally pulled away from the wires and tried to press the button.

To Charles' great surprise, the doors actually came apart just a little.

"Suck it!" Prangley cheered, flipping the door off.

"Are you gloating? It's a door!"

"You bet," Prangley grinned.

The two parts of the door had only slid apart slightly, and they had to force the door all the way open manually, so Charles grabbed one side of the door while Prangley grabbed the other.

"Three, two, one…" Prangley counted. "Pull!"

They both yanked on their respective side of the door, until they finally got it to a place where the doors locked in position.

"Phew," Charles sighed and wiped his sweaty hands in his uniform. The door hadn't opened all that much, and the boys had to shuffle sideways through the opening one by one. Charles went first.

He slowly stepped in, his fingers clenching around the grip of his pistol. The flowery smell of The Bean hit his nostrils with force as soon as he entered the atrium, and he was just about to take a deep breath and enjoy the scent of tropical flora, when a huge man in a Cerberus uniform jumped out from behind the wall and grabbed the wrist of Charles' gun-wielding right hand.

"Gotcha!" The man roared, forcing Charles to point the pistol upwards and away from himself. With his other hand, the Cerberus giant pulled out a little device, which started to hum while emitting sparks. Charles reacted instinctively to the stun gun and used his free left hand to direct a frantic jab to the face of his assailant. He wasn't really expecting to do any real damage to the helmeted Cerberus trooper. His punch had just been an act of sheer panic.

To his great surprise, the contact between his fist and the Cerberus helmet didn't hurt at all. The visor was shattered completely, as Charles drove his hand right through it, until his knuckles eventually connected with the man's face, destroying it completely in an explosion of bright, blue light. Blood sprayed out of the cracked visor, covering both Charles and the floor.

Charles slowly and carefully pulled his hand back out of the Cerberus trooper's helmet, and the lifeless body collapsed on the floor. He looked at his hand in disbelief. It was covered in blood, but also surrounded by a blue light, which made his hand look purple.

"Holy shit!" he cursed, shaking his hand to get rid of the nasty bits and pieces of skull and brain.

"What the fuck!" Prangley shouted, edging his way through the narrow opening and into the atrium. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," Charles panted nervously, still staring at his hand. He couldn't believe what had just happened.

"That was one crazy-ass punch!" Prangley said, looking down at the Cerberus soldier, whose blood was still flowing out onto the floor from the fist-sized hole in his helmet. "Damn, son!"

Prangley both sounded and looked genuinely disgusted, as he looked down at the dead soldier at their feet.

"Should we get going?" Charles asked.

Prangley held up a hand, took a few deep breaths and ran to the nearest bush and threw up.

"That's just nasty," he said, as he came back, wiping his mouth with his sleeve. "Did you have to fucking squash his brain, dude?"

"Sorry," Charles said, looking down at what he had done. It _was _a very disturbing sight, but that wasn't what Charles was thinking about at that moment. Charles was wondering if this was just another accidental use of biotics or if this was really it, but Prangley actually brought up the subject on his own.

"At least you didn't do it on purpose, right?" Prangley said, making sure not to look at the amount of brain tissue and blood pooling at their feet.

"Actually," Charles said nervously, "I think I did that consciously."

"Really?"

"I think so. It felt _way _different than the other times, and this time I actually tried to do something, instead of the biotics just acting without me thinking about it. I was scared and I panicked, but I wanted to hurt him, and I did, didn't I?"

"I'd say," Prangley laughed nervously.

Charles wanted to find out if he had indeed tapped into his powers consciously, so he focused his attention to Prangley and concentrated as hard as he could.

"Don't kill me," Prangley joked, realizing that Charles was about to test his powers. The fear was easily detected in his voice though.

"Don't worry," Charles said. "Nothing's going to happen. It was probably just another accident."

He squinted his eyes together and focused on the most important bundles of nerves in his body. A tingling sensation started building at the base of his neck and quickly moved down his spine and out into his limbs. Charles couldn't stop smiling. This was the feeling he had heard explained by his classmates and read about in their theoretic material, and now he was finally producing it by himself.

Charles' hands started to light up in a blue glow, which became sharper and sharper, until it actually hurt his eyes if he kept staring at it.

"Oh shit," Prangley cursed, noticing the smirk on Charles' face.

"I'll just try and lift you off the ground a little bit," Charles assured him and concentrated a little harder before moving his hand in an upward motion like he had seen the other students do so many times.

Prangley wasn't lifted off the ground though. He was rocketed into the air.

"Waahhh!" Prangley screamed as he flew across the atrium before reaching a fortunate landing in the pond in the middle of the room.

Charles pushed his way through bushes and great big ferns to get to the pond.

"Are you okay?" he shouted, hoping that the pond was deep enough to ensure Prangley a safe landing.

"I'm good," his friend called back and started to wade towards the edge. "But please don't try that again."

"I'm a little behind on the control bit," Charles admitted with a grin.

"I'm glad you're on our side," Prangley said, stepping back onto dry land. "When you get control of that shit, you might be almost as strong as me?"

"Almost?" Charles laughed, knowing his competitive and slightly self-centered friend well enough to take part in the banter.

"Yup," Prangley said. "Almost. Let's not get carried away."

After a quick walk through the rest of the rain forest-like atrium, they stepped into another hallway, which would take them the rest of the way to Orion Hall.

"Didn't you say that Jack had kicked you off the team?" Prangley asked, still smiling. "You'd think she would reconsider that decision, if she saw what you did to that poor bastard."

"Yeah," Charles said, but his brain was in another place as soon as Prangley mentioned Jack. They still hadn't heard anything from her or any of the others, but they were getting very close to Orion Hall, and Charles sincerely hoped that Jack would be there with Vera and Kurt. If the others weren't there, or worse, if he found their bodies there, he didn't know what he would do.

A loud blast was heard from around the corner, which Charles knew would be the entrance to Orion Hall.

"No!" he shouted and started sprinting towards the noise. The light had already begun to flow from his fingertips, but so had the tears from his eyes.

-X-X-X-

"Get a move on, Nielsen!" Jack shouted at the blond boy, who was bringing back some breakfast from a buffet table at the far end of Orion Hall. She and Rodriguez were standing on a raised podium, watching him sprint across the floor with his arms full of stuff. He was moving quickly, weaving in and out between the round tables, getting closer and closer.

Jack had been on a morning run through the station when Cerberus kicked in the doors. She'd met the first squad close to Orion Hall and decided, after killing them all, that she should wait for her students to assembly there, as that was the emergency plan for the academy.

Here she'd fought off another squad that had tried to capture her. It wasn't that big of a deal. Those fuckers were clearly new recruits, and nothing compared to the enemies she had fought with Shepard and his crew. She was worried about her students though. They had no combat experience, and even though she believed in their abilities, she wasn't sure if they could handle a threat like this.

Rodriguez and Nielsen arrived in Orion Hall together, and even though Jack was relieved to see them both alive and unharmed, she was worried when they said that they hadn't heard from Magnus.

She had tried to call his intercom more than fifty times the previous night, but he had clearly blocked her. He didn't respond to his doorbell either.

Jack could understand why he felt let down, and that he was disappointed about being told, that he wasn't going to be a part of the team, but she still felt that it was the right thing to do. She was pretty certain that she loved him, which made it all that much harder. But she figured that bringing him to the dangerous frontlines of the war against the reapers, while he still hadn't developed his powers was like signing his death sentence. If she did that, she might as well kill him herself.

She never meant his exclusion from the team to be the end of their relationship though, and she was afraid that Magnus was thinking that she did. She didn't want that at all.

She wanted him to be safe, and if they managed to defeat the reapers, she would find him and everything could be like before. Or so she hoped.

Not surprisingly, Rodriguez and Nielsen had noticed that Magnus was behaving weirdly last night, and they had shown enough balls to ask Jack if something was going on between them. She had decided to tell them about her decision to kick him off the team, and after some explaining, they had come to the same conclusion as her: She was doing the right thing.

Of course, that didn't matter much right now. Cerberus was all over the station, and Magnus was, hopefully, running around, trying to get to Orion Hall.

She was pretty certain, that he wouldn't join Cerberus, even if Dirus did promise him full access to his biotic potential, but alone, unarmed and powerless, he would have to be extremely lucky to make it to Orion Hall without being killed or caught.

If he was lucky, he had met up with Prangley, which would greatly increase his chances of making it.

If the big guy hadn't joined Cerberus, that was. Jack was less certain about Prangley's ability to decline Cerberus' tempting offers. He was talented, confident and extremely ambitious. All trademarks possessed by anyone in the officer ranks at Cerberus. Jack sincerely hoped that Prangley had been able to withstand the temptation. Not only would that make him a potential aid to Magnus, but that also meant that she wouldn't have to kill him later on, which wouldn't necessarily be an easy thing to do.

A big part of Jack wanted to leave Orion Hall to go and look for her boyfriend, who was probably in dire need of her help, but the emergency plan was to assemble in Orion Hall. Even though she didn't really respect plans like that, she still had a responsibility towards Rodriguez and Nielsen. The twins could also show up at Orion Hall at any moment, and there was also Arthur Froeberg and his collection of geeks, who were working with the same emergency plan. Magnus would, if he was still in a position to choose for himself, most likely try to find a way to get to Orion Hall, so Jack had decided to stay there, hoping against hope that Magnus would make it.

She was happy that she wasn't alone in Orion Hall any longer though. Having Nielsen and Rodriguez with her gave Jack some extra confidence in her students. These two had made it to Orion Hall, so their success could hopefully be copied by Magnus and the others.

They hadn't had it easy though, and the two of them had arrived at the assembly point almost completely tapped of their powers, which was why Jack had sent Nielsen out to find them something to eat. They needed some calories, and the source didn't really matter at this point.

"Good work, Nielsen," Said Jack to the young man, when he returned with a cardboard box full of energy bars and boxes of juice.

Nielsen was bent over, panting heavily with his hands on his knees.

"I'm knackered," he got out between a few coughs.

"Here," Rodriguez said softly, holding up a little box of juice with a straw to his lips. The young woman had been in tears almost constantly since they had rendezvoused with Jack. Not finding any of her classmates with Jack was a great shock to her.

"Thanks," Nielsen said and sucked greedily on the straw. He took the juice from her hand and put one arm around her. "I'm sure they're all alright, Vera."

"But it's been so long," Rodriguez sobbed.

"Hey, don't stop believing. Besides, it hasn't been _that_ long. It just feels like that," Nielsen said firmly, giving her a little squeeze. "They will be here soon, you will see."

Rodriguez gave him a sad smile and looked at Jack, who tried to look as comforting as possible, but Jack didn't think that she was pulling it off very convincingly.

They didn't get to relax for long though, because Cerberus had moved into position for another attack on Orion Hall. Jack, Rodriguez and Nielsen had taken cover on the raised podium at one end of the hall. This position allowed them to overlook the entire room, but they also had their backs against the wall. There was nowhere to go, if Cerberus should manage to push them back. That wasn't really a big concern for Jack though. She didn't make a habit out of retreating, and this spot therefore suited her just fine.

Cerberus centurions began throwing smoke grenades into Orion Hall, and it didn't take long before the entire room was shrouded in grey smoke.

"Fuck," Jack muttered. Their high ground advantage wasn't worth shit, if Cerberus was going to fog up the entire hall.

Suddenly, Cerberus troops started pouring out of the thick cloud of smoke. At this point, they had given up on trying to take Jack and her students alive, and when the bullets started to fly, Jack, Nielsen and Rodriguez had to crouch down and hide behind a flipped table.

"Shoot, damn it!" Jack shouted, and Nielsen and Rodriguez aimed their M-25 Hornet sub-machine guns at the advancing flock of Cerberus agents. They had taken the weapons from some dead soldiers, they had had to kill in order to get to Orion Hall. Nielsen had actually picked up two Hornets, and he adopted a sort of spray-and-pray shooting style, while dual-wielding the sub-machine guns. Rodriguez was much more conservative, sticking to one gun and picking her targets carefully.

Jack hadn't picked up any weapon. It had been a long time since she had been in a proper fight, and she was aching to release some of her pent up energy and anger, which was much better done with biotics than with guns. She rarely used firearms while fighting anyway. With powers like hers, it wasn't strictly necessary.

Her two students fired wildly into the smoke, trying to keep Cerberus at a comfortable distance until the smoke had cleared out. Jack was saving her energy, also just waiting for better visibility.

When the smoke finally lifted, dozens of Cerberus troops had taken position in front of the podium, where Jack and her students were crouching behind their impromptu cover. Some of them had shields to hide behind, but most of them were hiding behind tables, big flower pots and other random objects.

"There are so many of them," Rodriguez whimpered.

"Shut up," Jack hissed, grabbing the younger woman's uniform collar. "We can take them!"

"Are you going to come peacefully?" one of the Cerberus centurions called. "This is your last chance!"

Jack didn't even bother answering that. Instead, she stood up from behind their cover, glaring at the Cerberus soldiers. With a primal roar, she pulled her arms back before thrusting them forward, sending two shockwaves out into the Cerberus crowd. The soldiers screamed and shouted as they were thrown left and right by her powerful attack. Tables  
were flipped and shields were ripped out of the hands of the men holding them, leaving the Cerberus troops wounded and vulnerable.

On her left and right, Nielsen and Rodriguez also rose with their sub-machine guns pointing out into the chaos. They took a second to admire the havoc that Jack had created before pulling the triggers, raining bullets down upon the enemy. Their hail of gunfire combined with the attacks that Jack was still flinging out scattered the enemy and forced them to retreat back out of Orion Hall. Their numbers had been decimated, and they had to regroup.

"Come back, you fucking cowards!" Jack shouted, preparing to jump off the podium and running after the retreating Cerberus troops.

Nielsen and Rodriguez held her back though, and she remembered that they were relying on her to keep them safe. She had to keep her cool. She couldn't just switch her head off and fight like she used to, now that she was in charge of her students. For the first time ever, she was in a position of leadership during a life threatening situation.

On Shepard's crew she had, eventually, begun to feel responsible for the safety of her fellow team members, just like they were responsible for her safety. But back then, she had just been an ordinary member of the team. Now she was the one in charge, which made the responsibility and the pressure on her shoulders that much greater. If she had died during one of the collector fights, the rest of Shepard's team would still be able to protect themselves. Her students were good, but not exactly the super squad that Shepard had, and if she died because she couldn't control her temper, the students would be in grave danger.

So she allowed Nielsen and Rodriguez to hold her back, preventing her from chasing the surviving enemies, who were long gone by now. They would be back though. Cerberus was nothing if not persistent, and Jack and her students were apparently something of a prize to The Illusive Man.

"Get me an energy bar," Jack said, sounding calm enough that Nielsen and Rodriguez dared to let go of her.

A few minutes later, the three of them were sat behind their cover, snacking on energy bars and talking about their options.

"I'm so worried about the others," Rodriguez sniffled, while Nielsen gently rubbed circles on her back.

"They'll be fine," he said, giving Jack a pleading look, silently asking her to play along.

"They're fine," Jack whispered unconvincingly. She could no longer believe it herself, so how was she supposed to make Rodriguez feel better?

"We should go and look for them," said Rodriguez, a little determination was creeping into her voice.

Jack was very much tempted to agree with her, but she knew that they had to wait in Orion Hall. The others were all trying to make their way here, and if the Cerberus troops really were concentrating on this area, it would be stupid for Jack to leave. Magnus or any of the others would stumble into a death trap, while Jack, Nielsen and Rodriguez was running around elsewhere, looking for them. Apparently, Nielsen had come to the same conclusion.

"We have to stay here, Vera. The others will come," the blond said, and Jack had to admire the conviction in his voice. He was either thoroughly convinced that the others were all on their way and could arrive any minute, or he was a better liar than Jack would have given him credit for.

The tears were still running down Rodriguez's cheeks, but she seemed to resign to the fact, that Nielsen was right. The others were most likely trying to make their way to Orion Hall, and if they left, they could be walking around the station for hours without finding them. Having an agreed-upon meeting place was their only hope.

_"Students! If you can hear me… This is Kahlee Sanders. I am still alive, and I have regained some control of the communications system. You can't trust Cerberus. They are dangerous, and no matter what Dirus says, they are not here to help you. If you are out there… Please, be out there… Just stay safe for a little longer and don't engage Cerberus unless you absolutely have to. Help is on the way."_

Jack smiled at hearing Kahlee's voice on the intercom. The older woman had grown on her, and she had actually come to like her more than most, so she was happy to learn that the head director was still alive and well. She was a little intrigued as to what kind of help Kahlee was talking about. As far as Jack knew, the small security detail had already been dealt with by Cerberus, and surely the Alliance wouldn't waste time and troops on saving a few students from a space station on the other side of the galaxy, while Earth was invaded by reapers. Even if they would, they wouldn't be able to make it to Grissom Academy in time for anything other than body counting. All of this lead Jack to believe, that the lieutenant was only promising them help, because she wanted to heighten morale, which Jack was all for at this point.

Nielsen and Rodriguez were equally excited about learning, that their head director was still alive and kicking.

"Maybe there's still hope," Rodriguez said, breaking into a sad smile.

"Told you so," Nielsen said, showing off his trademark Cheshire cat grin, which wasn't as wide as it used to be, but it was a nice try, Jack thought.

Their discussion about Kahlee's message was interrupted by the loudspeakers, which made a loud beeping noise before filling Orion Hall with the sound of Commander Dirus' voice. Jack was getting sick of this son of a bitch trying to convince her students to join Cerberus, and the only reason she wasn't going to rip all the speakers down from the walls, was because she was hoping to hear more from Kahlee at some point.

_"Students of Grissom Academy. This is Commander Leopold Dirus speaking. You have fought valiantly, but you can still change your minds. Your friends Reiley and Seanne Bellarmine have already surrendered and joined our ranks. They will be safe from the reapers and they will be generously rewarded. We know you are clever, so do the right thing. Do as the Bellarmines."_

"Nooo," Rodriguez sobbed into Nielsen's shoulder.

Jack herself was frozen. She couldn't decide if she was furious or sad, or maybe both. But who was she really angry with? Cerberus, of course, but her anger towards Reiley and Seanne felt stronger somehow. She had trusted them, and she had wanted them to be a part of her team. Hadn't she specifically told them what she would do, if any of them ever even thought about joining Cerberus?

Even if she was facing certain death, Jack would never consider joining Cerberus. She held her students to the same standard, and the betrayal of the Bellarmines hurt her more than she expected. In some ways, as their teacher, she was responsible for the development of their moral codes, and two of her students joining an organization like Cerberus was clear sign of failure on her part.

For several minutes, Jack just stared out into the air. She was shaking with rage and disappointment, while Rodriguez had broken down completely. Even Nielsen was unable to comfort the young woman at this point, as he was pretty shocked himself.

"I'm gonna have to kill them," Jack sighed in disappointment. "I said I would. I'll have to do it."

Rodriguez cried a little harder, but to Jack's great surprise, she didn't really object to her words.

"Shhh.." Nielsen hissed, putting a finger over his lips.

"What?" Jack whispered, while Rodriguez tried to choke her sobs.

"I heard something," the blond said, peeking over the edge of their cover, but immediately dropped back down as bullets started flying. "Bollocks!" he shouted.

The news of the Bellarmines joining the Cerberus ranks had distracted Jack, Nielsen and Rodriguez enough to allow a new wave of assault troops to sneak in to Orion Hall from a rarely used side entrance, and now they were very close to their position.

"Rodriguez!" Jack shouted, "stay in cover! Nielsen and I will handle this!"

"No!" the brunette said, bravely wiping a single tear from her eye. "I can help!"

"I wasn't suggesting you just sit there and rub yourself, Princess!" Jack shouted, "Put up a barrier, damn it!"

Rodriguez was just about to respond to that, but a murderous glare from Jack made her rethink that decision. Instead, she closed her eyes, held out her hands in front of her and put up a barrier large enough to cover all three of them.

"Thanks, precious!" Jack spat, turning to Nielsen, who had already picked up his two M-25 Hornets.

"Let's go," she said and winked to him before popping out of cover, unleashing her powers on the approaching Cerberus squad.

Nielsen's Hornets were spitting out bullets, draining shields and tearing up the armors of the Cerberus soldiers, leaving them as sitting ducks for Jack's attacks.

As instructed, Rodriguez stayed in cover, concentrating only on maintain the barrier. That was no small feat though, as Cerberus was pelleting her barrier with rounds meant for Jack and Nielsen. Even though Jack was very busy, she still admired this young woman's barriers. They were truly amazing. They even allowed Nielsen to reload his sub-machine guns while standing up, instead of having to crouch down into cover.

The barrier finally flickered though, as more Cerberus troops joined in and started to fire upon the biotics.

Jack and Nielsen quickly dove back into cover, where Rodriguez was sat, panting and crying softly.

"I'm sorry, ma'am," she apologized. "I couldn't hold it any longer. I'm so sorry."

"Hey!" Jack said, grabbing Rodriguez's cheek and forcing her to look into her eyes. "I'm proud of you. You did good, yeah?"

"Yeah. Thank you," Rodriguez said, smiling just a little.

A loud explosion was heard, and the door separating Orion Hall from the Alan Bean Atrium was blown into pieces. While Nielsen and Rodriguez made themselves as small as possible to avoid the continuing fire from the Cerberus soldiers and the debris from the destroyed entrance, Jack leaned out the side of their cover and looked towards the exploded area.

Another Cerberus squad marched out of the smoke and took up positions next to the remaining part of the first one. If Jack and her two students had been outnumbered before, they were now positively overrun. There had to be at least twenty soldiers against just the three of them. Jack could tell, by the way that they moved, that the newly arrived squad was much more experienced than the first one.

"Stay down!" Jack shouted and spun back into cover, just as the new arrivals opened fire.

'Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!' she thought. They were in deep shit, and Jack's brain had stopped coming up with good ideas. She was by no means an experienced combat leader, so how the fuck would she know how to get out of this mess without getting her two protégés killed.

"What do we do, ma'am?" Nielsen's panicky shouts barely heard over the roaring gunfire.

"I don't know," Jack whispered. She was lost. Honestly clueless about what to do.

"What?!" Rodriguez shouted. Her voice was shrill and her breathing had become shallow. The girl was clearly losing it, but Jack wasn't doing much better herself.

"I DON'T KNOW!" Jack shouted, noticing how her voice became just an octave higher than normal, which normally meant that she was stressed beyond what was healthy. At this point, she could go two ways: Most likely she would flip the fuck out, let her biotics run amok and probably end up killing every single person on the station without paying attention to the colors of their uniforms. Naturally, that wouldn't be a very enjoyable experience for Nielsen and Rodriguez, who would be the first victims of her blood rage. The other possibility, what was actually happening right now, was paralysis.

In her inability to do anything, she wasn't causing any direct harm to the two students, who were counting on her, but she wasn't doing them much good either. It was clear that she couldn't handle the pressure of command and having the responsibility for the safety of others, and Jack was mentally kicking herself for accepting this position.

No! She couldn't doubt herself now. She almost never did, and now was not the time to cry like a little bitch. She was in charge of these people, and they were her responsibility. They looked to her for leadership, and here she was, cowering behind a flipped buffet table, while Cerberus, her sworn arch enemy, tried to kill her students.

At some point, she had to be able to control her powers. Why couldn't she go to maximum power, without losing control and killing as many allies as enemies? She had to learn at some point, and now was a fucking good time.

Nielsen and Rodriguez seemed to have understood that Jack had lost it, and they were left to fend for themselves. They were crouched down, hugging each other in what they believed to be their last moments, but then Jack pulled them apart with a new look of determination on her face.

"Hey, I'm sorry, I spaced out. I'm back."

They both smiled at her, picking up their weapons.

"Shockwaves on three, and then I want you to hit them with everything you've got. Biotics, weapons… Everything! Let's get them to work for it at least."

They both nodded, showing of the courage that Jack wanted. Even Rodriguez no longer had tears in her eyes, only anger. That was good, Jack could work with anger.

"One," she started her count, focusing her biotics.

"Two." Concentrating even harder.

"THREE!"

One massive shockwave ripped through the Cerberus soldiers, throwing them every which way, while two smaller shockwaves forced everyone who wasn't being thrown about out of their cover.

Jack immediately started to fling biotic attack at the scattered enemies. All over the floor, Cerberus soldiers were being picked up into the air and slammed back down into the floor, while Nielsen and Rodriguez mercilessly fired their Hornets at anyone who tried to fight back.

Even with their violent counterattack, Jack and her two companions were still heavily outnumbered, and Cerberus soon had the upper hand again. Several assault rifles were now pointed at the trio, and eating away at their barriers, but Jack, Rodriguez and Nielsen stayed out of cover, giving it their all. The thermal clips for the Hornets were all used up, and they were now relying solely on biotics.

"C-can't hold it much longer!" Nielsen shouted, pushing a portion of his last bit of energy into his barrier.

"Take it down," Rodriguez shouted, expanding her own barrier so it also covered her blond friend. "Just focus on the offense!"

Nielsen gave her an appreciative nod and sent two Cerberus soldiers flying through the air.

This division of tasks bought them a little extra time, but they were still taking a beating.

A shadow moved in the dust cloud that was still hanging in the air from the exploding door, and Jack was just about to send a shockwave in that direction, when the shadow split in two human silhouettes that looked somewhat familiar.

The first shadow, the larger one, stepped out of the dust and opened fire on the surprised Cerberus soldiers, who couldn't do anything about Prangley shooting them down from behind with his heavy pistol.

Jack had a pretty good idea about who the other  
shadow was, but she didn't dare thinking that thought.

Magnus ran out of the dust cloud, firing his pistol wildly at a group of Cerberus soldiers, who had turned their attention to Prangley, whose barrier was now being tested.

"Look!" Vera shouted unnecessarily. "It's Charles and Prangley!"

The remaining Cerberus troops were caught in the crossfire between Jack's group and the two newly arrived, and it didn't take long for them to meet their end.

"Jack!" Magnus shouted the moment the last enemy fell, threw his pistol aside, ran to the podium and pulled her into a warm embrace. She hugged him back, burying her head in his chest.

"I'm so sorry," Jack whispered, just loud enough for Magnus to hear it. She could feel the tears in her eyes, so she hid her face deeper in his chest, not wanting him or the others to see them. "I shouldn't have kicked you off the team."

"Hey," Charles replied, stroking her back and kissing the top of her head. "It's okay, but you should know that I don't accept your decision."

"No?"

"Nope," he said, hugging her a little tighter.

"I love it when you get all rebellious," Jack softly laughed, her voice muffled by his chest. "You're back on the team."

He laughed too, making his chest vibrate. "I love you," he whispered.

"Love you too," she choked out.

-X-X-X-

Holding Jack in his arms again was all that Charles had wished for, almost since he woke up that morning. To see that she and his two best friends were still alive had heightened his spirits immensely, and having Jack's warm body pressed against his was almost enough to make him forget all the horrible stuff that had happened so far that day.

He looked down and kissed the top of her head, but when he looked back up, his heart jumped. One of the Cerberus soldiers had gotten to his feet and was lifting his pistol, pointing it directly at Jack's exposed back.

Thinking quickly, he pushed Jack away, just in time to get her out of the bullet trajectory. Inches before the bullet pierced his chest, he managed to get up a barrier, causing the little piece of metal to stop dead in the air and falling to the floor with a metallic tinkling sound.

Charles looked up at the Cerberus soldier, who appeared to be pretty shocked. After all, the Cerberus data said that Charles wasn't performing biotics yet.

Charles gave him an evil grin and waved his hand in a swift motion, picking up the perplexed soldier and slamming him head first into the wall. Judging by the crunching sound, the soldier's neck broke, and his body fell to the floor when Charles released his biotic hold.

He turned around to face the others, and everyone except Prangley was staring at him with their mouths wide open.

"Oh yeah," he said shyly. "I can control my powers now."

Jack's lips were on his in a matter of seconds, while Vera, Kurt and Prangley cheered and clapped. Her tongue dominated his mouth completely, in what he guessed was gratitude for pushing her out of the way, thus saving her life. But that wasn't actually the reason why Jack was kissing him so passionately.

"Watching you kill gets me really hot," she whispered against his lips, and Charles could feel his manhood stir.

Even though he didn't always understand the things that Jack thought had sexual value, he did appreciate her whispering in her husky voice and the way she pressed her body against his.

"I hate to interrupt," Kurt said, smiling apologetically. "But shouldn't we start working on a way to get out of here?"

Jack pulled away from Charles and took a few deep breaths to cool herself down. Charles did the same, crossing his legs slightly to hide his semi-erection.

"Maybe there are more survivors," Vera hopefully said.

"I don't think so," Prangley said in a sad tone. "They're all dead or taken by Cerberus."

"Did you hear about the Bellarmines?" Kurt said. "I can't believe they'd join Cerberus."

Prangley and Charles looked at each other, and silence fell over the group.

"They didn't," Prangley finally said.

Vera looked confused.

"But Dirus said…"

"He lied," Prangley interrupted.

"I'm sorry," Charles said to Kurt and Vera.

"No!" Vera shouted, when she finally understood what had happened.

Both Kurt and Vera fell to their knees in anguish. Like Prangley, they had known the twins for a long time.

Prangley went to try and comfort them, while Charles tried to calm Jack down.

The instructor had lost it completely, and was currently stomping the shit out of a dead Cerberus soldier.

"You… Fucking… Bastards! You… Dirty… Mother… Fucking… Cunts!" she shouted each word, as she drove her boot heel deeper into the torso of the very dead assault trooper.

"Hey," Charles said quietly as he walked up to her, carefully stepping on as many bodies as possible. "I'm sorry."

"No!" Jack shouted angrily, kicking the dead trooper in the groin. "I'm sorry!"

"There was nothing you could do," Charles said.

"The safety of my students is my responsibility, and now I've lost two out of six!" Jack growled. "Impressive stats, right!?"

"You gave them a chance!" Charles said loudly, grabbing her shoulders and pulling her away from the bloody mush in a Cerberus uniform. "They never gave up! You should have seen the pile of Cerberus bodies they took with them! They didn't die alone!"

"Argh!" Jack screamed, grabbing the sides of her head. "I fucking hate this shit!"

"I know," Charles whispered in her ear, using some of his newly acquired powers to hold her back, so she wouldn't start jumping on the bodies again.

Slowly and steadily, he started moving her back to the others, but every time they came near a body of a deceased Cerberus soldier, Jack made a big deal out of kicking them in the balls or jumping on their heads.

Prangley was sitting on the floor, Crying softly with Rodriguez and Nielsen. All three of them were holding hands, remembering their friends together.

Charles felt slightly awkward, walking up to the three of them. He too was devastated at the death of the Bellarmine twins, but the others were on a whole other level. He had no idea how to speak to them, and he also had to keep an eye out for Jack who was still taking out her feelings of anger and guilt on the dead Cerberus troops.

Luckily, his friends didn't shut him out, and Rodriguez and Nielsen rose from the floor to hug him.

"I'm so happy that you made it," Vera sobbed.

"Me too," Charles said, stroking her back in a comforting manner. He kept an eye on Jack, just to see if she was getting jealous about him hugging Vera. But it finally seemed like Jack had gotten used to him having a close friend, who also happened to be a girl.

"Congratulations," Kurt said with a sad smile, giving him a hug as well. "How do you like the control of your powers?"

"It's great," Charles told him. "But I have to get used to it."

Kurt pointed to the Cerberus soldier that Charles had slammed into the wall. "It seems like your controlling it pretty well."

"Well… Yeah…" Charles said hesitantly. "I actually meant to throw him the other way."

Kurt and Vera smiled at him.

"Minor details..." Kurt said, giving him a friendly pat on the back.

Vera, Kurt and Prangley had to spend some time helping Charles to convince Jack, that she hadn't failed them, and that she couldn't blame herself for what had happened to Reiley and Seanne.

"We need you to get out of here, ma'am," Vera pleaded, and Jack finally calmed down. Charles didn't think that she had stopped hating herself yet, but she seemed to be pulling herself together, realizing that the four students who were alive still needed her.

"We'll get our revenge," Prangley said darkly, cracking his knuckles. "There are still Cerberus squads roaming our school. I say we hunt them down!"

"I'm in," Jack grunted, but Charles, Kurt and Vera held them back.

"We have to get out of here," Vera said patiently. "We don't know how many men TIM sent here… There could be hundreds!"

"I hope there are," Jack growled. "I'll kill 'em all!"

"No," prangley surprisingly said, "they're right, ma'am. We should get to Lieutenant Sanders and get the hell out of here."

"Damn it!" Jack cursed. "Let's go then!"

Jack started leading her students towards the nearest exit, when one of the downed Cerberus soldiers started moving and breathing heavily close to her. The soldier must have been knocked unconscious by the one of the shockwaves, and had just woken up. The arm was sticking out from the body in a funny angle. It was definitely broken.

Jack was over the survivor in a flash, pushing the sole of her boot down on the throat.

"Wait!" the soldier croaked and pulled off the helmet.

Charles was surprised to see an older woman dressed in a Cerberus uniform. Apparently, anyone could be a terrorist.

"Wait," the woman said in a weak and fearful voice. "I know you, Zero! My name is Helen, I used to work at the Teltin Facility. I helped raise you, Zero. Because of me, you are what you are today. I am like a mother to you! You can't kill me, Zero. Please!"

Jack's eyes turned even darker than they normally were, and Charles moved away from her a little. He had never seen such hatred in someone else's eyes. Jack still seemed calm on the outside, but her eyes revealed the fury inside.

"You know," Jack said, dangerously calm while she pressed her foot down a little harder on the older woman's throat. "I would have thought that you couldn't possibly make me want to kill you more… I mean, you've attacked my home and killed some of my students and tried damn hard to kill the rest of them, but then you go and bring up the Teltin Facility, like that would somehow make me want to spare your pathetic life. For your information, bringing up Pragia was probably the only thing you could say at this time to make me hate you even more. Honestly, I thought I was maxed out, and let me tell you, my hate-meter goes pretty fucking high. So, congratulations, bitch."

With those words, Jack twisted her leg, snapping the woman's neck with a horrible crunch.

"You're not my mom, Helen," Jack quietly said to the dead woman, whose face was frozen in a grimace of fear and pain. "I don't have a mom."

"Are you okay?" Charles asked, putting his hand on Jack's shoulder.

She turned and gave him a hint of a smile. "Yup."

All five of them moved on towards the exit. They hadn't heard from her in a while, but if Sanders was still alive, she would most likely be near the security checkpoint, where she had access to the stationwide communications and surveillance system. The main security office wasn't that far from Orion Hall, and Charles and the others had high hopes of finding the head director. They all knew that she was tougher than she looked.

A rocket suddenly zoomed right past them, and Kurt pointed to the other end of Orion Hall, where dozens of Cerberus soldiers were entering the room followed by a giant mech with a Cerberus pilot sat inside covered by an orange-tinted canopy.

"What the hell is that?" he shouted, as the biotics scrambled to find cover.

"That thing is huge!" Prangley shouted, just as another rocket missed him by a few centimeters.

"Stay in cover!" Jack ordered.

While she and the students were suppressed by the giant mech, the rest of the Cerberus troops moved in closer.

Charles blind-fired his Phalanx around the side of his cover a few times, trying to keep the enemy at a comfortable distance.

Seconds before Cerberus overran them; Charles heard the shattering sound of a window breaking and looked to his right. Someone had smashed the window between Orion Hall and the corridor running parallel to it.

"Flashbang out!" someone shouted from the corridor, and Charles was just quick enough to get into cover and close his eyes before a blinding white light filled Orion Hall.

He opened his eyes again, just in time to see a big man in an Alliance uniform jumping through the shattered window, firing his assault rifle mercilessly at the blinded Cerberus soldiers. Following him out of the window came two more fighters, who both engaged the confused Cerberus troops. They were both clearly from other species.

The first one had blue skin and tentacles instead of hair, which clearly identified her as an asari. This one wasn't semi-naked like the ones in Kurt's calendar, but dressed in a white uniform. It was still easy to see that she had a nice body though. However, This asari wasn't all about the looks. Her entire body was glowing brightly as she stepped forward, throwing one biotic attack after the other at the Cerberus soldiers, who had turned their attention to the people who had just arrived.

The other alien was also easy for Charles to recognize. He only had to think back to his history lessons in school, where they were taught about the first contact war. This one was a turian. Charles could understand why the first humans who saw turians were so scared of them. They looked like dragons walking around on two legs, and if that wasn't scary enough, this one was in a blue armor and carrying a huge, nasty-looking sniper rifle.

Another person jumped through the window and opened fire on Cerberus. Or was it really a person? It was clearly female, but it looked like some sort of robot. The way it moved was incredibly human-like though, and Charles was having a hard time deciding what this… she… was. Whatever she was, she was kicking Cerberus' ass. Besides an incredible speed and a flawless aim with her sub-machine gun, she was also using some sort of tech attack to set fire to Cerberus soldiers left, right and center.

"What are you smiling about?" Charles asked jack, who looked like Christmas had come early. It looked like she recognized some of these weird, but helpful, people.

"You'll see," Jack said knowingly.

In that very same moment, one last person jumped through the broken window and into Orion Hall.

Vera squealed like a teenage girl who just saw her favorite heartthrob in person for the first time, which Charles guessed wasn't actually far from the truth, because standing heroically in the middle of Orion Hall was none other than the famous Commander Shepard.

The expression on Vera's face was enough to make both Charles and Jack laugh, but another rocket exploding right next to them reminded them, that they weren't saved yet.

Shepard's crew was making good progress with the Cerberus foot soldiers, but the giant mech was still causing problems, and behind it, another door opened, allowing a second mech to enter Orion Hall.

"You've got to be kidding me," Charles sighed.

"Everyone, get down!" Jack shouted. "These things are out of your league!"

Charles and his friends didn't doubt that, so they decided to stay down and let Shepard deal with the mechs.

"Shepard!" Jack shouted to her former boss. "Keep them off us!"

Commander Shepard looked at Jack and smiled in recognition. "Aye aye," he mouthed and turned his attention to the mechs.

"CHARGE!" Shepard roared, raising his assault rifle and sprinting towards the nearest mech.

Boom!

The turian fired his cannon of a sniper rifle, tearing a great big hole in the mech's armor.

The other human, the asari and the robot-lady stormed after Shepard with their guns blazing.

The big human emptied an entire thermal clip into the canopy, pulled out a grenade and fastened it in the groin area of the mech.

"Get down!" he shouted and rolled away from the exploding mech.

The asari and the turian focused their attention on the remaining troops, while Shepard, the robot-lady and the other human took on the second mech.

In just a matter of minutes, Orion Hall had been cleared of all Cerberus presence, and Shepard and his companions joined Jack and her awestruck students.

"Jack," the turian, who was the first to reach them, said and gave the instructor a respectful nod.

"Garrus," Jack replied with a toothy grin. "Still leaving the real fighting to everyone else and staying in the back with your scope I see."

"Good to see you too, Jack," Garrus said in his dark and hoarse voice.

"You're Garrus Vakarian?" Kurt asked. Charles could tell that the blond was getting excited.

"Yes. You've heard of me?" the turian sounded genuinely surprised.

"Of course," Kurt said, throwing Jack a quick glance. She was the one who had told them all about Shepard's old crew.

"I see," Garrus hummed and clicked his mandibles. "Perhaps you've also heard of Archangel?"

"Who?" Kurt said after a brief pause.

"The vigilante hero of Omega?"

"Nope."

"Really?"

"Sorry."

"Archangel usually means a lot more to aliens than Garrus Vakarian does," the turian mused. "I will have to think about that."

"Aahh, the king of the boy scouts!" Jack dramatically declared, when Shepard stepped up to them.

To Charles' and everyone else's great surprise, she curled her fist and punched him straight in the mouth.

"How many times did I tell you not to trust Cerberus!?" Jack shouted at him.

Commander Shepard took the punch like a champ though.

"You're not telling me anything I haven't told myself, Jack," he said calmly, wiping a little blood from the corner of his mouth.

Jack angrily turned on her heel and started bossing around her students instead.

"Prangley! Your fields are weak! Cerberus isn't going to lie down out of pity like the girl you took to prom!"

Prangley just laughed it off. He knew that Jack was only mad because Shepard had taken her punch so well.

"Sophia gave me more than compassion that night," Prangley said cheekily, winking at Jack.

"Eww!" Jack said in disgust. "Grab juice and an energy bar. We move in five!"

While the students enjoyed their energy bars and juice, Jack had a talk with Shepard and his people, but Charles paid close attention.

"Dr. T'Soni," Jack said, shaking the asari's blue hand. "Business life on Illium got to boring for you?"

"Please, Jack," the asari said softly. "Call me Liara. Business life on Illium was… busy, but this time I couldn't say no. We all have to stand together now."

"You're happy then?" Jack asked Commander Shepard. "Your girlfriend's back on the team!"

"Yay," Shepard said, kissing Liara's temple.

"Aww, that's sweet," Garrus joked. "So sweet it'll make your teeth turn blue."

"Human teeth do not turn blue when overexposed to glucose or other types of sugars," the robot-lady said matter-of-factly, "they rot."

"EDI?!" Jack said in a surprised tone. "You have a body?"

The robot, apparently named EDI, looked down itself and then back up at Jack. "Indeed."

"Nice curves, but a little slutty, don't you think?" Jack said skeptically. "You look like Lawson."

"Operative Lawson was genetically designed to be perfect. I will take that as a compliment," EDI said, giving Jack a respectful nod.

The robot paused for a second.

"Actually," she said. "My body easily supersedes Miranda Lawson's. It is simply better."

"Better? How so?" Jack said in a disbelieving manner.

"My body has titanium alloy," EDI stated. "Hers does not."

"Uhm, that's not exactly what humans mean when they talk about having a good body," Jack told the robot.

"I know," EDI said. "That was a joke."

Liara giggled cutely. "EDI, I'm not an expert on human humor, but I think you need to work on your jokes."

"Nice try though," the big human soldier said and patted EDI's head before turning to Commander Shepard. "Hey Loco, who's the chick with all the ink?"

"My name is Jack," she said coldly. "Now, who the fuck are you?"

"Easy kids," Shepard said amicably. "Jack, this is Lieutenant James Vega. He's all muscle and no brain. James, this is Jack. She has a big mouth, but she loves ponies and fairies and stuff like that."

"Fuck you, Shepard."

"Oh, and she's the meanest, most powerful biotic human I have ever met," Shepard added.

"That's better," Jack said with a smile.

Vera leaned in and whispered to Charles and Kurt. "Whoa, he's hot!"

"Control yourself, Rodriguez," Kurt snickered. "I know you're a Shepard fangirl, but it looks like he's spoken for." The blond nodded at Shepard's hand, which was resting on the hip of the asari called Liara.

"Not him," Vera hissed. "The Vega-fellow!"

"I don't believe it," Charles laughed discretely. "Shepard, your dream guy, is here, and you've got the hots for his crew member."

"You know I like muscles, Charles. And look at _that_!" Vera sighed romantically. She was almost drooling.

"You're staring," Kurt laughed.

"Shut up!" Vera snapped. "I saw you looking at the asari before."

"She's gorgeous!" Kurt defended.

"But she's clearly with Shepard, you dummy. Ogling the girlfriend of the first human Spectre is just stupid."

"Fine," Kurt sighed. "I'll just gawk at his sexy robot then."

"Pervert," Vera accused, punching him lightly in the arm.

Charles had to agree with Kurt. Both Liara the asari and EDI, apparently an AI who had just recently installed herself into this body, were extremely attractive. He made sure not to be caught looking at them though.

If Shepard caught Kurt staring at his girlfriend, that could end badly for the young biotic, but if Charles was caught by Jack, all hell would break loose. So he tried to keep it to a minimum. It was hard though.

Jack was still talking to Shepard and his crew, and while Vera dragged Kurt away to stop him from staring and tell him about how Lieutenant Vega was blessed with perfect chest measurements, Charles moved a little closer, so he could eavesdrop.

"I have to say, I'm surprised to see you working as a teacher," Shepard said to Jack, who shrugged.

"Alliance Brass knew I helped you. They offered me this," she said and raised her voice so all the students could hear her. "And apparently the students responded well to my teaching style."

Prangley laughed. "The Psychotic Biotic!"

"I will destroy you!" Vera shouted in a dramatic imitation of Jack.

Jack smiled and shook her head at the students. "Drink your juice, Rodriguez. You couldn't destroy wet tissue paper."

"So," Shepard said, lowering the volume of the conversation again. "How are they doing?"

"How do you think?" Jack said. "A few months ago, their biggest worry was getting laid."

Charles felt his cheeks blushing a little at this point, but nobody seemed to notice.

Shepard was now speaking so quietly, that Charles was having problems hearing his words.

"Do you think they're ready for war, Jack?"

"What choice do they have?" Jack answered.

"You really seem to care about them," Garrus noted.

Jack paused for some time, staring down at her feet.

"I don't have a family, Garrus. And these guys…"

She blinked a few times and quickly used the back of her hand to wipe away a single tear from the corner of her eye.

"Anyone screws with my students… I will tear them apart!"

Charles knew she was talking about Seanne and Reiley, and that they were the reason she had tears in her eyes, but Shepard apparently knew better than to ask questions.

Charles felt a little bad for listening in on the conversation. It was, basically, eavesdropping, so he turned around and joined Vera, Kurt and Prangley instead.

"Did you hear Cerberus saying peoples' names," Vera said anxiously. "They must be keeping files on all of us."

"Why would Cerberus have a file on you?" Prangley said. "Your biotics aren't anything special."

"Just eat your fucking energy bar, Prangley!" Kurt angrily growled.

"Chill, Nielsen," Prangley said, holding his hands up defensively. "I was only joking."

Prangley put his hand on Vera's shoulder. "You did good today, Rodriguez. How are you holding up?"

"I'll be fine when we get out of here," Vera said, looking at the litter of dead bodies on the floor in disgust. "Do you think we'll get to go aboard the Normandy?" she asked hopefully.

"Maybe," Prangley answered, patting her shoulder softly. "Maybe."

"Alright," Shepard announced, getting the students' attention immediately. "Break's over. Jack and I have come up with a plan. My shuttle pilot is unavailable, so we'll use one of the Cerberus shuttles to fly out of here. We'll rendezvous with Lieutenant Sanders, and we'll all be safely aboard the Normandy sooner than you know it. No sweat!"

"No sweat?" Jack huffed and turned to her students. "Cerberus is still out there, so keep low and pick your targets! I didn't bust my ass training you, so you could die now!"

"Right," Shepard said, grinning at Jack. "We'll split into two teams. You kids will go with Jack of course, and Liara will come with you as well."

The blue alien kissed Shepard's cheek, crossed her arms behind her back and walked over to Jack.

"I'm happy to help," the asari said in her velvet-soft voice.

"According to my schematics of the station, the quickest route is through the grand atrium," EDI informed them in her slightly mechanical voice. "The atrium has a balcony, which could provide a tactical high ground."

"Splendid. We'll clear the ground floor, and you biotics can provide support from the catwalks," Shepard continued. "Just stay focused and we'll get through this."

"Here," Lieutenant Vega said, holding out his bear claw of a hand. In his palm were a bunch of small earpieces. "You'll be patched into our comms."

Jack and her students all grabbed an ear piece and stuffed it in their ear. When Vera took her earpiece, Vega winked at her, making the young woman blush furiously.

"Bueno," Vega said, when everyone was on the same radio channel.

"Let's go," Shepard said.

Charles was very tense and nervous, but the commander seemed completely relaxed and happy. Like he was perfectly at home in a dangerous situation like this. It almost annoyed Charles, that the commander took everything so lightly, but he guessed he couldn't really criticize humanity's greatest hero. He probably knew what he was doing.

"Move out," Jack ordered her students, but before they could do anything, the loudspeakers in Orion Hall woke to life and blasted Commander Dirus' accented voice out into the air.

_"Students of Grissom academy! We have sealed off the station. The Alliance soldiers cannot save you. All they can do is get you killed. Surrender peacefully and you won't be harmed."_

"Asshole!" Jack growled bitterly.

Vera wringed her hands nervously. "What if… What if they're not lying?"

"They are," Shepard said confidently, "You've already held your own against Cerberus, and you have been trained by one of the best. You can do this!"

"Come on, Rodriguez," Jack said, grabbing the younger woman's shoulders and bringing her face very close to hers. "They are only asking nicely 'cause you scared them in that last fight. So take your balls out of your purse, and kick some ass!"

"Yes, ma'am," Vera said with renewed purpose.

Shepard gave the students his cheeky smile, which had won many a woman's heart all over the galaxy, including Vera's, at least until she saw Lieutenant Vega. "Let's go then."

Five minutes later, Jack lead Liara and the students out onto a balcony overlooking the grand atrium.

"Alright, we're ready," she said.

_"Roger that," _Shepard's voice rang through the earpiece in Charles' ear.

Charles looked out over the railing, and on the floor beneath them, Shepard walked in the atrium, filling it with his mere presence.

"Maybe we can make it to the shuttles without running into Cerberus," Vera said hopefully.

_"What's the fun in that?" _Lieutenant Vega joked, looking up at the students on the balcony. He blew them, or maybe just one of them, a kiss and adjusted his armor.

Apparently, Cerberus felt like making Vega's day, because as soon as Shepard's team started moving across the floor, assault troops started pouring in from every entrance.

_"It's about to get real sporty down here," _Garrus Vakarian calmly predicted, putting the scope of his rifle to his eye.

"We've got you covered," Jack assured the ground team.

Boom!

Garrus' sniper rifle emitted a thundering blast, and the head of a Cerberus officer disappeared in a cloud of red mist.

"Scoped and dropped," the turian crowed.

"Damn," Charles sighed, watching the red mist slowly raining down.

Watching Shepard work was a true privilege. The man was a living legend, and Charles knew that he was good, but what he saw from his position on the balcony was almost a display of godlike skill. Charles could never have imagined just how good Commander Shepard _really _was. It was a magnificent sight.

The Spectre danced from cover to cover, and every time a Cerberus soldier popped his head out too far, Shepard took them down with a precise three-round burst from his assault rifle. His every move looked so calculated and perfect, even down to the smallest turn of his neck or the way he placed his feet on the slippery floor, but everything happened so fast, that he couldn't possibly be thinking about all those things at once. It had to be instinct.

As a direct contrast to his commander, Lieutenant Vega sprinted, jumped and rolled all over the place, all the while firing his rifle like a mad man. He was taking out enemies at a furious pace, but lacked the style and grace of Commander Shepard.

EDI was, at least to Charles' understanding, a robot, which of course meant that every single shot fired by the metallic woman was calculated and accurate. The AI must have had massive processing power, because she was mowing down targets with her sub-machine gun quicker than any human could hope to do.

"Impressive, isn't it?" Jack said to Charles and stood next to him. Shepard's people were handling themselves, and the biotics didn't have to get involved at this point. So Jack, Charles and the other biotics were leaning against the railing, watching the fighting going on down below.

"Yeah," Charles answered. "They're good."

Jack slowly inched closer, until she was standing right next to him.

"I've missed working with Shepard," Jack sighed longingly. "Not only does he find some crazy-ass fights, but he'll lead you through them like a boss."

"I can imagine," Charles said, just as Shepard sank his omni-blade deep into the neck of an unfortunate Cerberus soldier.

"I've always hoped that I would get to work with him again," Jack admitted.

"I can see why."

Shepard was doing just fine without any help from the biotics, and Prangley was getting a little impatient. While the others were happy with their roles as spectators from above, Prangley wanted to get in on the action.

"They're almost too good," Prangley complained, but he was obviously just as excited about seeing the first human Spectre in action as everyone else.

"Yeah," Jack sighed thoughtfully. "It gets a little boring for the rest of us, when Shepard's in a mood like today."

"He can have them all, if you ask me," Charles said.

"I'd prefer it, if we could help him," Prangley said, and Jack nodded in agreement, she too was having a hard time just watching.

They were joined by Liara, who had been listening to their conversation.

"You humans are so eager to pick a fight."

"And asari aren't?" Jack countered.

"I wouldn't say so," Liara sweetly said. "Most of the humans I've met have been pretty eager to fight."

"We don't have a thousand year lifespan, so we might be a bit quick to do certain things," Jack mused. "Besides, isn't Shepard the only human you've really ever been friendly with?"

"He is," Liara admitted, carefully watching her human mate's graceful dance across the atrium floor. "Well, I briefly talked to you and Miss Lawson back on Illium, and I spent a little time with other humans back on the old Normandy as well. I was a little more… reserved… back then, so I probably didn't learn as much about your species as I should have."

"So, basically, Shepard's your only real source?" Jack said, a smile playing at the corner of her mouth. "You can't say that humans are violent, when he's your only data point. Shepard's _far _more violent than the rest of us!"

Kurt snorted sarcastically at this, but Jack silenced him with a glare.

The ground team was making their way across the atrium rather quickly, so the biotics had to keep up with them, simply by staying as directly above them as possible. If Shepard's team suddenly needed it, they would be ready to support, but that didn't look like it was going to happen.

The two humans, the turian and the artificial super-intelligence controlling a metallic version of a swimsuit model's body were getting near the exit from the grand atrium, which meant that they were pretty close to the shuttles and their ride to safety, but Charles' hopes of a somewhat easy evacuation was spoiled by Cerberus, who was now throwing everything they had at Shepard and his people.

_"Anytime you feel like it, baby," _Shepard calmly said over the radio, as he and his team members got behind cover. _"We could use a little biotic artillery down here."_

"Stay down, honey," Liara replied, sounding slightly worried.

"Go nuts!" Jack unceremoniously ordered her students and sent a massive shockwave at the largest flock of enemies.

"Finally," Prangley said happily and began his own attack.

Liara was incredibly elegant and softly-spoken, but as soon as she started bombarding the people who were threatening Commander Shepard with her biotics, Charles knew why the asari, besides her alluring appearance, was a justified member of the Normandy crew. She was covered in a powerful, pulsating biotic aura, and the somewhat fragile look that she normally had was completely gone. She looked dangerous. Very dangerous.

All around Shepard and the rest of the ground crew, Cerberus soldiers were being slammed into walls, tossed around like ragdolls or had limbs pulled right off their bodies. The last unfortunate group was all Jack's doing, and even though it was brutal to look at, Charles couldn't find any sympathy for Cerberus in his heart, so he did nothing to calm her down.

Charles himself was also taking part in the attack, but he made sure not to attack anyone too close to the friendlies. His biotics were still not totally under control, and he _really _didn't want to be known as the guy who accidentally killed Shepard because he got a little cocky about his newfound powers.

He was doing fine though, and his targeting got better for every attack he sent towards the assault troopers at the far end of the atrium. He watched in delight when one Cerberus scumbag was levitated all the way to the ceiling of the atrium before he was dropped and fell several stories to his death.

He didn't feel any regret for killing these people. Not a single gram of guilt. Cerberus had killed Reiley and Seanne, so in Charles' mind; a quick and painless death delivered by the combination of gravity and a hard, unforgiving floor was getting off easy. These motherfuckers didn't deserve to live, and he wasn't planning on allowing them to.

It didn't take long for Cerberus to figure out where the biotic artillery was coming from, and the biotics soon had to take cover behind the railing, when the enemy started firing their weapons up at their position.

"Arhg!" Kurt shouted and collapsed on the balcony floor, clasping his left shoulder. "I'm hit!"

"Kurt!" Vera shouted worriedly. The tears were almost in her eyes quicker than her best friend had hit the ground. She was clearly fearing the worst.

Charles quickly crawled over to his blond friend, careful to stay below the edge of the banister.

"Kurt!" he shouted, but the blond had passed out. There was a small hole in his uniform, and blood was slowly bubbling up, the red liquid mixing with the red fabric of Kurt's uniform.

Liara quickly came to his aid and ran her omni-tool over Kurt's wounded shoulder. "The pain has made him lose consciousness. The bullet has lodged itself in his shoulder joint, so it must have been slowed down by his barrier. I can't get the bullet out right here and now, but I can stop the bleeding, and then Dr. Chakwas can take it out later."

"Fuck! Do it!" Jack shouted.

Liara smeared a healthy dose of medi-gel on Kurt's wound, and sprayed some other chemical into his nostril, which made him wake up.

"Mr. Nielsen," Liara said softly, keeping constant eye contact with the young man. "You have a bullet lodged in your shoulder. I've applied medi-gel, which is going to numb the pain, but since the bullet is as deep as it is, gel is going to have a very limited effect."

If Kurt was in pain, it seemed like he had completely forgotten about it. He seemed too baffled by the presence of the asari's beautiful, blue face just a few centimeters above his own.

"I had a dream like this once," he said. "But I've never woken up to find that the asari was still there in the real world."

"Pervert," Vera sighed, remembering not to punch him in the arm like she used to. However, she took the cheeky comment as a sign that he was doing alright, and that made her calm down a bit.

Liara just smiled at them both and returned her attention to the fight going on below, where Shepard had used the distraction of the biotic artillery to do some serious damage.

"How are you?" Charles asked. "Does it hurt a lot?"

Kurt tried to move, but winced as soon as he had to use his shoulder. "Like a mother fucker!"

Apparently, having Liara bending over him was much more effective as a method to relieve pain than the medi-gel she had applied to his wound

"You don't have to shoot or use biotics," Jack told the blond. "All I need to know is if you can move about."

"I think I can," Kurt said bravely, slowly sitting up. "Just don't go too fast."

While the fighting was still raging below, Jack led her students to the other end of the atrium with Liara bringing up the rear. Kurt was very careful not to move his left arm, as even the slightest movement brought him a great deal of pain.

"Fuck, this hurts!" Kurt shouted, clenching his teeth and squinting his eyes.

"I know," Charles said. "Just a bit further."

They finally made it to the other end of the atrium, where they were taking an elevator down to the same floor as Shepard's group. As soon as they had all entered the elevator, Jack punched the button and they rode down to the bottom floor.

The elevator came to a halt, and the doors started opening slowly, but as soon as they did, Cerberus opened fire on the elevator, forcing Jack and Liara to put up a powerful barrier at the elevator entrance.

"We could use a little help, Shepard!" Jack shouted.

_"In a minute," _Shepard informed them on the radio. _"I'm a little busy right now."_

The biotics couldn't see what was going on with Shepard from within the elevator, but they could hear a lot of gunfire and explosions. They didn't have time to worry about the Commander though, because the Cerberus squad outside the elevator were still firing relentlessly and had almost broken down Jack and Liara's combined barrier.

"Rodriguez!" Jack shouted in a strained voice. She was using a lot of energy maintaining the barrier. "Rodriguez! You're going to have to give us a hand here!"

"Ma'am," Rodriguez said nervously. "What if I'm not strong enough?"

"Then we're all dead anyway!" Jack shouted. "Put your fucking barrier up!"

Prangley grabbed her shoulders and shook her.

"You're amazing, Rodriguez! Your barriers are much stronger than mine, so why don't you pull yourself together and save our lives, huh?"

She smiled at him, gave Jack a confident nod and added her own barrier to Jack and Liara's, just as Cerberus was about to break through. That didn't buy them much time though, and the Cerberus squad outside were spending one thermal clip after the other tearing away at their defenses.

"SHEPAAARD!" Liara shouted. "Get over here! Now! We're pinned down!"

_"In a minute!" _Shepard panted.

"WE DON'T HAVE A FUCKING MINUTE, YOU STUPID MORON!" Jack shouted.

Shepard didn't even respond to this.

"Shepard!" Liara screamed angrily. "If you don't get over here right now, I'll either be dead or too angry to ever sleep with you again!"

If it was Liara's threat that did it or if it had actually been a minute, Charles didn't know, but that was the moment Shepard came to their aid. Two rockets zoomed in from the side and blew the Cerberus squad sky high.

Jack, Liara and Rodriguez all fell to the floor in exhaustion and relief, and the barrier flickered and disappeared.

"What took you so long?" Jack panted.

_"I had to hijack this baby,"_ Shepard said proudly, and one of the giant mechs came stomping around the corner with Shepard sat in the pilot seat.

"I'm not happy about nearly dying while you play around with Cerberus toys," Liara said, crossing her arms and glaring at Shepard through the orange glass.

_"I'm sorry baby, but I've never driven an Atlas before. I had to do it,"_ he said apologetically.

"We'll talk about this later," Liara said in a firm tone, and Shepard looked a little defeated behind the controls of the mech, which was apparently called an Atlas. "Just take us out of here."

_"Yes, honey,"_ Shepard said quietly.

"Whipped," Prangley whispered in Charles' ear, and they both laughed.

"The great Commander Shepard," Charles whispered back. "Who would have thought?"

"Can we get going?" Kurt groaned. "My shoulder is killing me!"

It was just a short way to the shuttles now, and having Shepard take point in the Atlas was making them all feel a lot safer.

"We've got several Cerberus squads coming in from behind!" Garrus, who was covering their backs, shouted.

"Run for it!" Shepard said, parking the Atlas in the middle of the narrow hallway.

Everyone started sprinting down the corridor, while Shepard jumped out of the Atlas and mounted a timed hand grenade to the fuel cell and set the timer for 15 seconds.

"Go! Go! Go!" he shouted and stormed after the others.

Charles looked around to make sure that Kurt was doing alright, but the blond was already far ahead of him. It was a good thing that Kurt was so fast, even a bullet in his shoulder wasn't causing him to fall behind. Satisfied that Kurt was fine, Charles picked up his own speed until he couldn't go any faster.

A thundering blast sounded behind them, where Shepard's timed grenade had caused the Atlas to explode. Hopefully, The Illusive Man had lost many employees in the blast. Charles didn't turn around to look though, he simply continued running until his lungs were burning and his heart was trying to jump out of his chest. After rounding a few corners, they finally arrived at their destination.

"This way!" Lieutenant Sanders called, waving them over to an abandoned Cerberus shuttle.

Charles smiled at the head director, who thankfully looked to be unharmed.

Lieutenant Vega jumped into the driver's seat and brought the engines to life.

"Get everyone in!" he shouted and revved the shuttle engine.

"Wait!" Jack said, just as Charles was helping Kurt into the shuttle. "Where the hell is Rodriguez?"

They all looked around, but Vera wasn't there.

They heard gunfire from the room next to the one they were in, and through a glass window, they saw Rodriguez running from five Cerberus soldiers. The dark-haired girl was barely missed by a rifle burst, so she ducked, looked over her shoulder and threw a biotic field at her pursuers. Two of the Cerberus agents were thrown off their feet, but the three others were getting closer and closer.

"She needs covering fire!" Shepard shouted and started pounding the glass window with his rifle.

"She needs more than that!" Jack growled, destroying the glass with a biotic pulse. The three Cerberus were tossed across the room so violently, that they didn't even realize what happened before they slammed into the opposite wall and was killed instantly.

Prangley and Charles hurried over to Vera and helped her get into the shuttle, which was getting pretty crowded.

"Let's go, James!" Shepard shouted, stepping into the shuttle last and closing the door.

Vega didn't hesitate, and in under twenty seconds, they had left Grissom Academy and was flying through space, heading for one of the most famous ships in existence - The Normandy.

"Joker," Shepard called his pilot. "We flew out on a Cerberus shuttle. Watch your fire."

_"Right, I've got you on sensors. Should just be a minute," _Joker replied.

"Thank you, Commander," Sanders said. "We'd have never gotten off that station if you hadn't come."

"Fuck that," Jack said. "We kicked some ass. Next place we dock, you're all getting inked. My treat."

Sanders loudly cleared her throat and looked at Jack in a very disapproving manner, but she was utterly ignored.

"What do you guys want? Ascension Project logo? Glowing fist? Maybe a unicorn for Rodriguez?"

"Screw you, ma'am," Rodriguez said, and received a stern look from Sanders.

"I can't believe we got them out alive," Sanders said to Shepard. "I was going to suggest that they stick to support roles."

"This is one hell of a biotic squad. I look forward to seeing what they can do." Shepard said, sounding genuinely impressed, causing the students to laugh and high-five each other.

_"Commander, we've got a visual on you now. Preparing to dock," _Joker announced. _"Hey, Jack, now that you're military, are you going to wear a uniform? Or are you just getting the officer's bars tattooed on?"_

"Screw you, f…" Jack started, but was stopped by Lieutenant Sanders sending her a dangerous glare. "…flight lieutenant."

Joker laughed. _"Uh… What the hell was that?"_

"Jack promised to watch her language in order to maintain the necessary professionalism we need from our teachers," Sanders explained, but it was clearly just as much about reminding Jack of the promise.

_"What, do you have a swear jar or something? 'Cause I bet if we emptied that thing, we could afford another cruiser."_

"Actually," Sanders said, trying hard not to smile. "We do have a swear jar, but I think Rodriguez has been the one putting the most credits in it these last few weeks."

_"Someone's been picking up the habits of their teacher, haven't they?" _Joker laughed.

"Cover your ears, kids," Jack said.

None of them did, but Sanders quickly covered hers. The lieutenant could only take so much of Jack's bad language in one day. And this had been a long day already.

Jack was continually cursing Shepard's pilot, not pausing to breathe until Vega had landed the shuttle inside the Normandy's hangar, where Sanders breathed a sigh of relief.

Charles was finally able to relax as well. Not because Jack stopped swearing, but because they were finally safe, and they were aboard the Normandy. Not only was that one of the safest places he could imagine, but it was also a dream come true for anyone who had paid the slightest attention to what was going on in the galaxy in the last couple of years.

Charles had the feeling, that this was the beginning of a whole new chapter of the adventure that his life had become. This was the Normandy for fuck's sake. If that wasn't an adventure, he didn't know what was.

* * *

_A/N:_

_Huge chapter._

_Both in terms of size and content._

_I look forward to your reactions to this one._

_Let me know what you think about the story itself, but I'd also like to hear your thoughts on chapter lengths. Would you prefer shorter chapters?_

_This one ended up being so long, because it's obviously a VERY important chapter with loads of action and emotions going on all the time. The pacing I work with requires the attack to take up MANY lines, and I decided against doing this in split chapters, so it ended up getting pretty lengthy. Let me know what you think._

_So... A lot of shit went down in this one. Those of you who have been waiting for Charles' powers to start working. Congratulations, he's there. (I bet many of you had already guessed that he would get there during the attack, no?)_

_We're obviously all ME fans here, so there's no point in telling you that I've used some of the original dialogue in this chapter. You've already noticed that. I've also taken the Liberty of altering some of the original lines a little bit to make them fit. _

_Now that we're out of Grissom Academy, the story is obviously going to change a little bit, and I look forward to writing the next part of this story. Because I get to play around with the characters that we all know (yes - I'm going to include more of the Normandy Crew and other beloved characters)._

_I have been sick and in the hospital for some time lately, which is, besides the massive size, my main excuse for not getting this chapter out earlier. However, I think I'm alright now. I'm going on a three week vacation to the US and the Carribean this sunday, but I might still write a little. I doubt I can can myself away from the computer, even if I wanted to._

_I also wanted to take this opportunity to give a little shout-out to my favorite reviewer, Chevy99. He always takes the time to leave very helpful and insightful reviews to my chapters, and I am very grateful for that. As I've said before, it feels good when somebody tells you, that you're doing a good job. But it feels even better, when somebody tells you WHY you've done a good job and make suggestions on how to do it even better next time. Don't get me wrong though, I appreciate all constructive and genuine reviews, and I will always respond to those. Even if you hate Biotic Beginnings :)_

Chevy99 has written a story called Mass Effect Bloodlines, and I greatly recommend that you read it. Our writing styles are different, but I think our senses of humor match. So, if you like Biotic Beginnings (or hate all of it, except the humor) you should definitely check that out.

_I hope you are all well, and as I said, please let me know what you think about this chapter (and the length)._

_R-I-P Reiley & Seanne Bellarmine_


	29. Scars

Chapter Twenty-Nine – Scars

It had taken Doctor Chakwas less than half an hour to open up Kurt's shoulder wound and dig out the projectile that had lodged itself in the joint. Local anesthetics were used, and their effectiveness meant that the young man didn't feel a thing under the entire operation. Charles and the others still had to wait outside though. Chakwas wanted her operating room to be as sterile as possible. Jack had told them that the glass separating the med bay from the rest of the crew deck could be turned black and opaque to ensure a measure of privacy, but the doctor had chosen not to do that in this case, which meant that all of Kurt's friends and his instructor was stood in the mess hall, peering in at what was going on inside.

When Doctor Chakwas finally plunged a pair of tongs into Kurt's left shoulder and pulled out a little, bloody piece of metal, Vera made a gagging noise, but kept her worried eyes on her wounded friend all the same. The doctor washed the bullet off in a disinfecting fluid and dropped it in Kurt's right hand. The blond looked down at the thing in his palm which just a few seconds earlier had been inside his shoulder, and Charles would have sworn that his friend was looking at the bullet with both affection and pride. Maybe that was a soldier tradition that Charles had never heard of, keeping the projectiles that claimed your blood. Or maybe it was just because it was the first one. It seemed to be some sort of tradition, because Chakwas, who was a military doctor after all, put her hand over Kurt's and closed his finger securely around the little piece of metal with a solemn look on her face. Then she started stitching Kurt's shoulder back together, and the panel on the med bay door turned from red to green, allowing everyone to come in and see their friend.

"Will I have a scar after this?" Kurt asked the doctor just as Charles, Vera, Prangley, Jack and Sanders filed into the med bay.

"I'm afraid so, Mr. Nielsen. But it's going to be a teeny tiny one, and I'll bet that you won't even remember which shoulder took the hit in a few years."

"I've donated a generous sum to the company that makes the anti-scarring salve used by the Alliance," Shepard said, entering the med bay. "If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't have been so damn handsome."

The commander had damp hair and had clearly just stepped out of the shower, and even Charles had to admit, that the commander certainly was equipped with a rather impressive appearance. Vera hiding her blush behind Charles' back was a clear testament to that.

"You're a bit of a prat, Commander," Chakwas huffed, "but I bet Sirta Foundation appreciates the donations all the same."

"Could you not use the anti-scarring stuff?" Kurt asked the doctor, as Chakwas returned her attention to his shoulder.

"You want it to leave a scar?" Chakwas asked. She didn't sound that surprised, and neither were Shepard or Jack. They were both smiling knowingly.

"I want to be able to impress the birds!" Kurt laughed shamelessly.

"With that tiny thing?" Vera said skeptically, but blushed furiously when she realized what she had just said.

Jack, Sanders, Shepard and the students all lost it completely, while Chakwas tried to get Kurt to remain still, but even she had a little smile on her face.

"I meant the scar!" Vera insisted, trying hard not to laugh, but it was impossible when the rest were in tears as a result of her unintended innuendo.

"Sure, you know my knob is massive," Kurt snickered, but his smile was replaced by a wince when Chakwas pinched him in his healthy, unwounded shoulder to get him to stay still.

"The ladies do like them though," Shepard assured the blond, who was back to being stitched up by the good doctor. "The scars I mean."

Charles covertly glanced at Jack to find out if she agreed, and when she caught his eye, she gave him an affirmative but very discrete nod. 'I'm going to have to get me some scars,' Charles thought to himself. What he wouldn't do for that woman…

Just as Kurt jumped of the operating table, sporting a suture on his left shoulder, Lieutenant Vega stepped into the med bay.

"Hola, Jefe," he said to Shepard and bumped fists with his superior. "Esteban and I have dismantled the Cerberus shuttle… Well, Cortez did most of the work, but I like to think that he enjoys my company."

"I'm sure he does," Doctor Chakwas mumbled sarcastically.

"Anyway…" Vega continued, pretending that she hadn't said anything. "We stripped the shuttle of parts that may be of use to us later. Some of them are compatible with our own Kodiak. We also deactivated the Cerberus beacon, so they won't be able to track us down."

"Good work, James," Shepard said, and Charles wondered if the Commander always called his crew members by their first names. So far, he had only heard him address them by their first name, just like he accepted most of them simply calling him 'Shepard'.

James sloppily saluted the commander and turned to Kurt. "How are you? Arm staying on?"

"I'm fine," Kurt assured him.

"You should try to keep your arm as still as possible for the next couple of days, Mr. Nielsen," Chakwas reminded him. "If everything goes as planned, I can take out the stitches then, and you might have your itty bitty scar."

"First battle scar, huh?" James grinned, glancing at Kurt's closed palm which contained the bullet.

Kurt nodded proudly.

Without warning, James pulled his grey t-shirt over his head, revealing a torso that appeared to be chiseled in stone. Besides the abundance of muscle, he also revealed the full extent of the tattoo that was visible on his neck and arm even when the shirt was on as well as some rather impressive battle scars all over his massive chest. The badass-factor was definitely upped a bit from what Kurt could display, and the blond looked somewhat envious at the sight of Vega's torso. So did Prangley, but that probably had more to do with the sculpting of the lieutenant's body.

The funniest reaction, not surprisingly, came from Vera. The young woman actually squealed and jumped into the air when James pulled off his t-shirt. They all, James Vega included, stared at her, and her face turned as red as her uniform. The lieutenant gave her a cheeky wink, and turned to Chakwas, while Kurt and Jack teased Vera for her lack of self-control.

"Could you take a look at my collarbone, Doc?" James asked. "I felt it a little bit today. Nothing too bad, but I wanted to be sure that I'm not going to be sitting on the bench for our next op."

The doctor quickly ran her experienced fingers across his collarbone, but apparently, didn't find anything out of the ordinary.

"Looks fine to me," she said. "Are you sure you're not just using every opportunity you get to pop off your shirt every time we meet new people?"

"Or maybe I just like it when you feel me up, _Doctor_," James teased the older woman, whispering her title in a bedroom voice.

"Get out, you scoundrel!" Chakwas half yelled half laughed.

"Tell Steve to get some rest!" Shepard shouted after James, as he left the med bay with his t-shirt casually thrown over his shoulder. Charles had already met Steve Cortez (or Esteban, as he was lovingly called by James) in the hangar, and the shuttle pilot certainly looked like a guy who could do with a nap.

"I'm sorry," Shepard apologized to the students, particularly Vera. "James can be a little…"

"Prick?" Jack guessed.

"Intimidating," Kurt corrected her.

"He's a handful," Doctor Chakwas sighed.

"That he is," Shepard agreed. "But he brings a certain level of… physique to the battlefield."

"Mmhhmm," Vera hummed.

"Down girl!" Kurt laughed, pretending to have a whip in his hand, like one of them old school circus animal trainers.

Shepard chuckled at their behavior and led them out of the med bay and into the mess hall. After a quick meal with some of the crew, Jack and her students had a shower and their uniforms were turbo-washed, while Lieutenant Sanders went to have a chat with Engineer Adams whom she knew from the past. Charles' and Prangley's uniforms especially needed to be rinsed of clotted Cerberus blood. Luckily, the Normandy had washing facilities that could wash and dry a uniform in less than 30 seconds.

"Gentlemen, the men's bathroom is on the port side of the ship," EDI's pleasant voice had told them, as Charles, Kurt and Prangley tried to make their way into the bathroom located on the starboard side. Luckily, no one was in there, but when they turned around to go to the other side of the ship, Jack and Vera were standing right behind them, both with crossed arms and annoyed facial expressions.

"You guys will never stop perving, will you?" Vera asked, while Jack started to tap her foot in a threatening manner.

Before they could begin their defense, EDI came to their aid.

"It was an honest mistake. Commander Shepard goes to the wrong bathroom all the time," the AI informed the two annoyed females.

"All the time?" Jack huffed in disbelief.

"Suspicious, isn't it?" Vera agreed.

The three boys were quick to take advantage of the women's indignation switching to focus on Shepard, and they hurried over to the port side and into the correct bathroom.

Not surprisingly, the three of them were done with their showers before the women, and as they sat back in the mess hall, Shepard walked in with a young, beautiful woman in tow.

"Boys, this is Comm Specialist Samantha Traynor. She is the reason we got to you in time."

They thanked her, but she dismissed their praises, saying that she was only doing her job. She excused herself, saying that she had to talk to Garrus about something, and she kept walking through the mess hall and out the walkway to the main battery. Shepard went over to the kitchen and poured himself a glass of water.

"You can take anything you want from the kitchen," he told Charles, Kurt and Prangley, who nodded thankfully.

Charles rose from his seat and joined Shepard in the kitchen.

"Can I talk with you for a moment, Commander?"

"Sure. You're Magnus, right?"

"Charles Magnus, sir. Please Just call me Charles."

"Only if you drop the sir crap." Shepard gave him a bright smile and guided him into a large office on the port side of the crew deck. The office apparently belonged to Shepard's asari girlfriend, Liara, who was standing in the middle of the room, simultaneously watching 40 or 50 screens on the wall to the right. They were all broadcasting different news channels from all over the galaxy, and every single one of them showed pictures of burning cities, humans and aliens trapped in overcrowded refugee camps or messages to the public from the different military organizations trying to keep civilians under control. With all the screens on at the same time, it was a horrible mosaic of death and pain, and Charles couldn't understand how the asari could bear to watch it.

On his left was a blue orb. From his experience with the combat engineers, Charles immediately recognized it as some sort of drone.

"Hello, Commander," the orb said, alerting Liara to their presence.

"Hey babe," Shepard said, as Liara turned the news off.

"Shepard," Liara said happily, "Glyph just told me that Kaidan decided to accept the council's offer to make him a spectre."

"Good for him," Shepard said. "They had to find another human at some point. At least I can take credit for some of his training."

"Kaidan?" Charles said. "As in Kaidan Alenko?"

"You know of him?" Liara asked.

"I've met him. He came to the academy as a guest instructor once."

"I see," Shepard said. "He's a good man. We haven't always been on the same page, but he has a strong sense of right and wrong, he's a brilliant soldier and he is honest to the core, and I respect that. He will make a fine spectre."

"I think so too," Liara agreed.

"Could we use your office for a moment, Honey?" Shepard asked. "Charles here wants to talk to me about something."

"Of course." Liara gave Shepard a quick kiss on the cheek and stepped out of her office.

"So… What's up?" Shepard asked.

Now that Charles was completely alone with the hero of the galaxy, he realized who he was actually standing in front of. This was the man who had saved the citadel from the geth attack a few years ago, though everybody was now in agreement about that attack actually being orchestrated by the reapers. He was also the man who had rescued Jack from prison and asked her to help him hunt down the collectors. Knowing all this, it suddenly seemed surrealistic to be standing her with him. How do you speak to a living legend?

He had nowhere else to go though, and he really needed to talk to someone about something that had been on his mind ever since they left the academy.

"Thanks again for saving us," Charles stalled, thinking about how to get to the real issue. "If you guys hadn't shown up when you did…"

Shepard held his hand up to stop him.

"What did you want to talk about, Charles?"

"It's just… Earlier today… We were under attack, there was nothing I could do… I killed some people, Commander." Charles' voice was low, barely a whisper. Like he was telling a secret that would incriminate him somehow.

"Your first kill?" Shepard guessed.

Charles nodded. It was indeed his first kill. First kills actually - In plural. He didn't know how to feel about. It felt like the right thing to do at the time – It still did, but that didn't do anything to remove this weird feeling he had inside.

"I see," Shepard said thoughtfully. "Not that I don't want to help you, but isn't this something that you should be talking with your instructor about?"

"I guess," Charles said with a shrug, "but Jack has this really… bizarre relationship with the act of killing. I don't think she would be able to understand my point of view."

Shepard chuckled softly.

"Yes. Jack does seem to enjoy killing way too much, doesn't she? I remember when I first recruited her. The first couple of missions, I was constantly contemplating if I had done the right thing by taking her out of that prison. Seeing how she's trained you guys, I think I made the right call."

"I'd agree," Charles said, trying to sound like a person who was speaking about a teacher that he liked in nothing more than a usual teacher-student relationship kind of way. "But I still don't think she would understand."

"You're probably right," Shepard agreed with a playful smile, "but I'm going to, very immodestly, assume that you've heard about me?"

"Of course I've heard about you. You're Commander Shepard!"

"Yes, I am," Shepard said. "If you know that, you'd have to know, that I probably won't have an easy job relating to the feelings of a novice life-taker. To be fair, it has been a looong time since my first kill."

"Is Miss Chambers still a part of your crew?" Charles asked hopefully, remembering that Jack had told him about this lively redhead who, surprisingly, held a degree in psychology.

"She isn't, no," Shepard said. "How do you know about Kelly?"

"Jack told us about her time on the Normandy."

"Of course she did. Now, I will ask you not to use that name again. Kelly has left Cerberus, and she has a new identity now."

Charles nodded, remembering how Jack had worked on what was, at that time, a Cerberus vessel. I must have been incredibly hard to coexist with members of an organization that she despised to her very core. The events of this morning had certainly lit a roaring fire of hate and disgust within Charles. Cerberus had somehow become the thing he loathed most in the entire galaxy. Much more so than the reapers, and they were planning on destroying all intelligent life forms. Even though the reapers' final solution to the existence of intelligent life seemed worse than anything that Cerberus could come up with, they just didn't have the same sense of betrayal and disloyalty about them as Cerberus. This was a human organization after all, whilst the reapers were, quite literally, beyond his understanding. Also, the reapers hadn't, as far as he knew, been responsible for the lives of any of his closest friends and family, and Cerberus had, very directly, been responsible for the murder of Reiley and Seanne.

"Here's my advice," Shepard finally said, breaking Charles' chain of thought. "Try not to think about it too much. It sounds silly, I know. But give it a few days, and if you still feel weird about it, you could try talking to Liara, who is also relatively new to the killing business. She also seems to dwell on it a lot more than Garrus, James and I."

"Thank you, Commander. I will give it a few days."

"Or even better, speak to your friends about it. I'll bet this was their first real taste of combat as well, right?"

Charles nodded.

Shepard smiled. He seemed genuinely happy about being able to offer some advice.

"I understand that you can't speak to Jack about it, but you should definitely ask your friends. Other than that, the only thing I can tell you is to not feel bad about it. Cerberus came for you and your friends, they killed two of your classmates and they tried to do the same to the rest of you. Self-defense was more than justified, and you did what you had to do to protect yourself and your friends. You shouldn't feel bad about it, actually, I think you all should be proud of yourselves. Cerberus is not a weak enemy to be up against in your first battle."

Shepard's words made a lot of sense to Charles. He did feel justified in his actions, even before his talk with the commander, but there was still something about talking the life of another human being that bothered him. Perhaps Shepard was right, maybe it would feel better after a few days, or maybe he should talk to his friends.

"Thank you, Commander," Charles said, grateful and honored that the legend had taken the time to listen to his immature worries.

"Any time, Charles. I want you guys to treat the Normandy like your home and the crew and myself as your family while you are aboard."

Back in the mess hall, Jack and Vera had joined Kurt and Prangley at the table, and Liara was serving them some kind of soup. A completely black kind of soup.

"This is matriarch's milk. It's a soup made purely from vegetables and herbs that grow on my home planet Thessia. It's hard to describe the taste, but most humans seem to like it," Liara said, placing bowls of black liquid in front of Kurt and Vera.

"It's really good," Shepard told them, as he and Charles took their seats at the table. They still looked rather skeptical at the contents of their bowls.

Liara placed bowls in front of Charles and the commander, and Shepard eagerly dug in. Not wanting to seem ungrateful, Charles tasted a spoonful without looking down into his bowl, where all sorts of weird-looking chunks of vegetables were floating around in the darkness. To his pleasant surprise, it tasted wonderful. It was like nothing he had ever tasted, but it was definitely sweet. Much sweeter than any soup he had ever had before. In any human cooking book, it would probably belong with the desserts.

"It's good," he told the others, who had been waiting to see his reaction, and soon they were all shoveling matriarch's milk into their mouths. It was a big hit with the biotics.

Liara didn't have any soup, claiming that she had to watch her figure, which the boys didn't agree with at all. There was nothing wrong with Liara's figure, and it seemed to have the boys enthralled much like Miranda Lawson's when she had paid the academy a visit. The asari sat on Shepard's lap, making it a little different for him to eat his soup, but he didn't complain. The commander must have noticed how the young men were ogling his girlfriend, especially Kurt wasn't making much effort to keep his staring a secret. Incredibly, the blond managed to eat soup with his tongue wagging out of his mouth, which would have impressed Charles if half the soup hadn't gotten stuck in the moustache that Kurt stubbornly kept, even though the others had tried their hardest to get him to shave it off, including Vera stealing his ID card so Charles and Prangley could sneak in at night and hold him down, while she tried to shave him. Miraculously, the stache had survived this cowardly ambush.

Even with all the bits of vegetable and soup dripping from his lip pest, Kurt couldn't keep his eyes from the asari on Shepard's lap, but the commander didn't seem to care, if anything, he seemed rather proud to have pulled a woman that could make the younger men jealous. Jack was a little less relaxed about Charles sitting opposite the beautiful alien, and she kept a close eye on him. Knowing that he was being closely monitored, Charles kept his focus on his food, but avoided asking Liara for more of the delicious soup even though he kind of wanted to.

Liara seemed completely oblivious about the fact that her mere presence was the center of so much silent drama around the table. She just looked thoroughly delighted that everyone seemed to be enjoying her cooking, and Charles noticed that even Jack swallowed every last drop of her soup. She clearly liked it, even though she tried her best to look like she didn't. Charles wondered if he was going to have more problems with Jack's jealousy coming up, but he hoped that Liara being with Shepard would relax her a little bit.

Garrus and Specialist Traynor walked past, and the latter sniffed in a couple of times.

"Are you making soup again, Liara?" she asked excitedly.

"Help yourself," Liara giggled, anticipating the specialist's next question.

"Yay!" she happily said and grabbed a bowl and a spoon.

"Too bad I can't eat levo-soup," Garrus said disappointedly. "You humans seem to go crazy for that matriarch's stuff."

"Matriarch's milk," Liara reminded him.

One of Kurt's friends, who was a student of biochemistry back on Grissom Academy, had tried to explain levo- and dextro amino acids to Charles once during breakfast, but it had all gone straight over his head. Now that he was here on the Normandy, which obviously held food of both sorts, he made a mental note to start paying attention to the things he put in his mouth. He didn't remember what the biochemist had said about what would happen if you ate the wrong kind of food, but Charles wasn't willing to put it to the test. At least he knew that the things he could eat were called levo. He just hoped that all the food was clearly labeled.

The comm specialist sat down at the table with the others, while Garrus decided to go and annoy Joker, who Charles had yet to meet. When they arrived on the Normandy, they had come straight from the shuttle bay and up to the crew deck, and the pilot was obviously on the bridge on the command deck, which was one level above their current position.

Specialist Traynor was clearly a big fan of Thessia's signature dish, and she helped herself to several additional portions. When she was finally done eating, she leant back in her seat with a satisfied smile.

"I love your cooking, T'Soni," she sighed with contempt.

"You should see what I can do with fresh ingredients. These military rations are nothing compared to the real thing," Liara said. "It loses a lot of its sweetness when it's made from these frozen, processed vegetables."

Charles had a hard time imagining the soup being much sweeter than it already was, and he doubted that he would have liked the fresher edition. There's such a thing as too sweet. But apparently, asari liked to consume sweet stuff. He remembered the variety of sweet asari beers and liquors that Jack had introduced him to, and this soup was definitely right up there with the sweetest of them. Traynor was overjoyed to learn that she hadn't even tasted matriarch's milk at its best, and she made Liara promise her to make her a bowl of the real deal when the war was over.

-X-X-X-

Jack secretly enjoyed the soup, but she definitely wasn't going to show that, when Liara already had the boys, including her boyfriend, completely under her spell. There was no need to praise her food, which clearly showed that the asari had housewife potential. Jack would have guessed that Liara would be more like some sort of trophy wife to Shepard, but it seemed like this little blue bitch had more to her than good looks. Jack liked her though, except for the way she made the boys stare.

When they had finished the soup, or rather when Traynor had finished their soup, they went to the shuttle bay, where Shepard had asked the entire crew to assemble. He asked everyone to honor the deaths of the Bellarmines and everyone else killed or kidnapped by Cerberus during the attack on Grissom Academy by a minute of silence. Nearly everyone working aboard the Normandy had turned up. Even Joker had been replaced at the helm so he could attend the ceremony.

Jack looked around, while they paid their respects to the lost and fallen. On a neat line behind Shepard stood Liara, James, Garrus, Joker and EDI, and Jack was pleased to see that they all took the time to honor her fallen students. Tears were slowly running down Liara's cheeks, while Shepard, James, Garrus and Joker wore stoic faces. They had all been at their share of military memorials, and they knew just the kind of respectful, sad face to put on at these events. Jack was a little surprised to see the even EDI had the somber grimace down to a tee.

Next to her, her students stood with Kahlee, who was absolutely crying her eyes out, holding on to Rodriguez whose legs looked like they were about to collapse. The three male students tried to stand tall and straight, like the military crew of the Normandy did, but it was obviously a losing battle, and before the full minute of silence was over, all three of them were silently crying. Jack checked her reflection in the mirrored windows of the shuttle she was stood next to, and it didn't surprise her at all, that the Jack that looked back had long black lines running down the cheeks. She knew that she was crying.

"Thank you," Shepard said, when the minute of silence was over, and the person filling in for Joker fired off three bursts of one of the Normandy's secondary weapons – one burst for Reiley, one for Seanne and one for all of the tech students and Professor Froeberg who had also been on the station when Cerberus attacked.

The Alliance personnel made respectful nods towards Jack, Sanders and the young biotics before riding the elevator back up to the upper deck to resume their duties. Jack was glad that the shuttle bay was emptying, because she could feel herself trembling with rage. She was grinding her teeth so hard that her jaws hurt, her legs were shivering and things around her started levitating and floating around the room for no apparent reason.

"Arghhh!" she screamed, and in a flash of light she had disappeared from her position and reappeared in front of the Cerberus shuttle that was parked in the far end of the shuttle bay.

"RARGH!" she roared and slammed her head into the side of the shuttle with an amount of force that would surely have broken her neck if her entire body wasn't completely charged with biotic energy. Then she noticed the Cerberus logo on the hull of the shuttle, and she lost all control. She pulled back her fist and punched straight through the outer armor of the shuttle. When she pulled her arm back out, she had pieces of pipe and wires in her hand.

"Jack!" Shepard shouted, running up to her. "Jack! You have to relax."

"Fuck off!" Jack snarled and continued her slaughter of the Cerberus shuttle. Again and again, she punched the shuttle, but eventually, she couldn't maintain the biotic energy level required to keep her from hurting herself, and when she punched her hand through the outer shell one more time she cut her hand and forearm on the sharp edges.

"Jack! You're hurting yourself!" Shepard shouted. "This is not going to bring back your students!"

"ARGH!" Jack simply shouted and punched the shuttle again. Her biotics were protecting her even less this time, and instead of punching straight through the armor, her knuckles slammed against the metal without the biotics taking any of the blow. She felt a sharp jolt of pain all the way up her arm and realized that she must have broken some bones in her hand. She didn't care at all.

She drew back her fist once more, readying it for another punch, but somebody grabbed her from behind.

"No!" She shouted and writhed to get lose. "Nooo! Let me go!"

The person didn't let her go though, instead, the grip around her tightened, and a slightly familiar voice whispered in her ear.

"Jack. Please stop."

"Grrr!" Jack growled and tried to twist herself out of the hold so she could have another go at the shuttle, but this person was clearly using biotics to keep her in place.

"Please," the voice begged. "I love you, Jack."

Her body went limp.

Everything went dark, and she collapsed in his arms – his strong, familiar arms.

-X-X-X-

"I asked Glyph to do some research into her past."

"Of course you did, what did you find out, Honey?"

"She has had it incredibly hard, Shepard. She must be troubled."

"I think that's a given, Liara."

Jack was listening to Shepard and Liara's conversation. She had just woken up, but she hadn't opened her eyes, and the two of them clearly didn't realize that she was awake. She could tell be the sterile smell, that she was on a bed in the med bay. She must've been taken there after she fainted.

"Did you know that she's wanted for capital offences in more than half of the Terminus systems?" Liara asked, and Jack had to fight hard not to smile. Actually it was 56 % of the Terminus systems. She kept a precise count.

"Hmmm… I'm slightly surprised it's not all of them," Shepard said, and Jack could imagine the smile on his face even with her eyes closed.

"A lot of her history is really well hidden in databases belonging to merc bands or even governmental databases."

"But you were able to dig it out, weren't you?"

"Of course!" Liara said, insulted that he would even ask. "I am the Shadow Broker, you silly, silly man."

"You're the what!?" Jack hissed, opening her eyes and sitting up in her bed.

"Fuck," Shepard sighed.

"I thought you hated the Shadow Broker," Jack said. This was pretty confusing. "On Illium, we helped you track down his observer, your personal assistant, and then you killed her."

"Yes," Liara admitted, "and then I tracked down the broker himself, killed him and now I am the most powerful information broker in the galaxy. I am the Shadow Broker."

"Wow," Jack said, complete stunned. "That's… something."

"It is. I could start a devastating war between two races, literally by the push of a button. It wouldn't take me more than a few minutes," Liara stated offhandedly.

Jack swallowed and Liara continued.

"Or… I could use the tremendous resources at my disposal to try and turn this war in our favor."

"Since you're dating the Boy Scout, I'm going to assume that you're using your powers for good?"

"Mostly," Liara giggled and poked Shepard in the ribs.

"Obviously, you can't tell anyone about this," Shepard said seriously. He clearly didn't want Liara to be in danger, because someone leaked her secret.

"I won't," Jack said honestly.

"Good," Shepard said. His famous grin was back on his face "Now, could you please explain why you kept moaning Ensign Magnus' name in your sleep?"

"Fuck!"

-X-X-X-

Charles knew that Jack was trying to keep their relationship a secret to the Normandy crew, which had made it very hard for him to take proper care of her when she blacked out. He had managed to carry her unconscious form from the shuttle bay and up to the med bay without raising suspicion, but when Chakwas asked everyone to leave, he really didn't want to. He knew though, that Jack would be absolutely livid with him, if she found out that he had given them away by refusing to leave her side.

Because he couldn't demand to stay at Jack's bed without letting everybody know that their relationship was something more than what was normal for a student and his teacher, Charles now stood in front of the memorial wall, looking at the names of some of the brave people that had already been lost in the war against the reapers. His eyes immediately locked on the two newest names on the wall.

_Reiley Bellarmine_

_Seanne Bellarmine_

Even though it made him sad to see their names, he still couldn't think of a greater honor for the twins. They were on a memorial wall reserved for the heroes who had served on the Normandy, and he was sure that Reiley and Seanne would have been very excited about getting their names up there. There weren't many humans who didn't dream about seeing the Normandy from the inside, and this seemed like Shepard was granting them their last, untold wish.

Vera had been inconsolable after the ceremony they had held in honor of the twins, and Sanders, Kurt and Prangley had taken her to the starboard lounge to talk things over. Charles had offered to go with them, but they insisted that he stayed in the mess hall, so he could keep an eye on Jack, at least from a distance.

Charles stepped away from the memorial wall and back into the dining area. Occasionally, he would steal a glance over at the med bay windows, but Jack looked like she was still asleep. Shepard and Liara were standing in front of her bed, discussing something.

"She's not the average teacher, is she?" James asked from the kitchen. The lieutenant was making some sort of protein shake, and apparently, Charles wasn't being as subtle as he thought about his worry for Jack.

"Not even close," Charles laughed.

"She definitely has a lot of power and aggression," James said, sounding genuinely impressed. "I've never seen anyone punch through a shuttle before. She's kind of hot too, if you're in to that sort of thing…"

"She has a boyfriend though," Charles said, a bit too quickly.

"I thought so," James chuckled. "Relax man, I'm not going to try and steal your girlfriend."

Charles sighed, happy that he didn't have to keep up this game of charades with the lieutenant, but also slightly disappointed that he had been so easily read.

"How did you know?"

"The way you looked at each other. This morning at the school, in the shuttle on our way back, during the ceremony…"

"That easy?"

"Chill, I won't tell anyone about you and Lola."

"Lola?" Charles asked skeptically.

"It's a good name, no?"

"Watch out," Charles warned him. "She doesn't like to be called anything other than Jack."

Shepard stepped out into the mess hall and called Charles over.

"See you later, Carlos," Vega said, as Charles stepped over to the Commander, who was waiting near the entrance to the med bay.

"He's given you a pet name already?" Shepard asked when Charles reached him. "That means he likes you."

"How is she doing?" Charles asked, trying to sound a regular amount of concerned.

"Your girlfriend's fine," Shepard whispered, thoroughly enjoying Charles' jaw drop. For a moment he thought that Shepard had somehow overheard his conversation with James. But how could he?

Shepard just laughed and dragged him into the med bay, where Jack was sitting on her bed with Liara and Doctor Chakwas at her side.

"The windows, Doc," Jack said as soon as Charles entered the room.

Chakwas smiled and pushed a button on the wall which made the windows between the mess hall and the med bay dark and opaque. The moment the windows lost their transparency, Jack grabbed the collar of Charles' uniform and pulled him into a searing kiss, right in front of Shepard, Liara and Chakwas. At first, Charles was hesitant, thinking that Jack was suffering from her blackout, but the hunger of her lips made him forget that they were even in the room.

When Jack finally released him, he didn't quite know what to do with himself. Jack was still sat on the side of her bed, looking like she couldn't wait to rip his clothes off. Shepard was grinning like a mad man and giving him a discrete thumbs-up. Liara looked like a little girl who had just seen the most adorable puppy, and the doctor just smiled pleasantly.

Charles could feel himself getting red-faced, so he lamely tried to move things along.

"How are you?" he asked, like nothing had happened.

Jack looked questioningly at Chakwas, who shook her head and was once again the very image of medical professionalism.

"Jack will be fine. Her body was just overwhelmed by the biotic output combined with the psychological stress."

Jack looked at Shepard.

"Psychological problems… Who would have guessed, huh?"

Shepard gave her a sad and compassionate smile.

"You've had a rough morning, Jack. Your reaction wasn't uncommon, it was just a little more violent, because you are… well, you. Most people can't punch holes in armor designed to withstand atmospheric entries and anti-aircraft fire, even when they're upset."

"How do you deal with it?" Jack asked.

"Losing people?"

"Yes."

"There's no right way or wrong way. You have to do what works for you, but I don't think you can ever get used to it. It's horrible," Shepard quietly said. "You just have to remember what you're fighting for. Use the anger. Make the enemy pay for what they've done. But you can never lose your head, or you'll only lose more people."

Jack took a deep breath and stood from the bed.

"Can I go, Doctor?"

Chakwas nodded. "Give your hand some rest for a couple of days."

Jack made for the door, but stopped and turned. "Don't tell anyone about us."

Liara, Shepard and Chakwas promised not to reveal their relationship to anyone.

"James already knows," Charles told her, and in that very moment Chakwas pushed the button, making the windows to the mess hall transparent again. Lieutenant Vega was outside with his face pressed up against the glass. He had obviously tried to find a way to peek through. When the glass turned transparent again, and he realized that he was busted, he winked at Charles and Jack, gave the glass a big wet kiss and walked away in triumph.

Shepard laughed, but Jack looked like she wanted to run after him and kick his ass.

"Maybe we could keep this between the five of us," Charles said.

"Make that six," a robotic female voice said. "I already know."

"Damn it, EDI!" Jack growled.

"I'm sorry, Jack," EDI said. "But unless you specifically ask me not to, I constantly monitor all areas of the ship. Nothing is a secret to me."

"Much like Liara, apparently," Jack said bitterly and received a look from Liara that clearly said 'keep your mouth shut'.

"I'm very good at keeping secrets," EDI said. She sounded proud in her ability to keep secrets, even though she apparently knew about almost everything that happened on the ship, making Charles wonder if an AI could actually feel pride.

"And we won't tell anyone either," Shepard promised. Liara and Chakwas both nodded.

Jack grabbed Magnus' hand in hers and used her other hand to gesture between them.

"If Joker hears about the two of us, I swear I'll kill you."

"Hears about who?" Joker said, limping into the medbay for his routine appointment with Doctor Chakwas. "Hey, why are you holding hands with your student? Is that your lipstick all over his face?"

"FUCK ME!"

* * *

_A/N:_

So. Mix of emotions, good bit of fluff, getting to know the Normandy Crew. The next couple of chapters will take place on the Normandy, that much I can tell you.

_Not doing a good job of keeping their relationship a secret._

_I'm back from my holiday, and I'll probably get the next chapter out some time next week. I'm trying to make the chapters longer than I did in the beginning, because I think it works better with the pacing of my story (relatively slow)._

_Hope you're all doing well, enjoying summer (or winter if you're on the Southern hemisphere)._

_- Simon_

_PS: I've been mapping out some of the major future chapters, and this reminded me that I used some of the early author's notes to invite my readers to send me ideas. This of course still stands, and I'll be more than happy to discuss Biotic Beginnings with you in private messages._


End file.
